LOS ANGELES — A proposal requiring California to verify proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to require voters to provide identification at polling places will appear on the November ballot, state officials said. Backers of the measure submitted sufficient petition signatures to qualify for the ballot.

If approved in November, mail-in voters would have to provide the last four digits of a government-issued identification, such as a Social Security number. More than 23 million people are registered to vote in California, which is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to vote. The California plan is backed by Republicans.

"We already show ID for everyday activities like flying, opening a bank account and picking up prescription medications. Thirty-six other states and many countries around the world already use voter ID," said state Sen. Tony Strickland, a Republican from Huntington Beach. "Californians deserve secure, transparent elections," Strickland said.

The announcement came as Republicans in Congress are pushing a strict proof-of-citizenship proposal for residents to vote, encouraged by President Donald Trump.

Most California residents vote by mail, and the state's vote tallies can take weeks or sometimes longer to complete. California has at times faced questions from critics about the legitimacy of its vote tallies. Research shows voter fraud in the country is rare. Voting by noncitizens has occurred, but reviews of state cases have shown it to be uncommon and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to sway an election.

The effort to tighten restrictions on voter registration and mail ballots will occur in an election year when Californians will be electing a governor and control of Congress will be at stake. Trump continues to claim that he was not the loser in the 2020 presidential election and has said the contest was marred by widespread fraud. Dozens of judges, including several appointed by Trump, rejected his claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. The Attorney General found no evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the results. Multiple reviews, audits and recounts in battleground states where Trump disputed his loss confirmed Joe Biden's victory, and several of those were overseen by Republican lawmakers.