California voters will decide in autumn whether residents will have to present legal identification in order to vote, the state's chief election official said.

The voter ID measure surpassed the threshold of 874,000 signatures required to qualify for a referendum, according to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

The issue, boosted by the state's Republican Party, will be put to a vote during California's midterm elections, to be held on November 3.

The most populous US state is one of 15 states that do not require voters to present ID when they cast their ballots. Voters must give identification when registering to vote, however.

On the national level, US President Donald Trump has been pushing Republicans in Congress to pass a sweeping overhaul of voting rules – including requiring voter ID – before the midterm elections, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

The bill, which has already passed the House of Representatives, faces steep obstacles in the Senate, where Republicans lack the votes to overcome Democratic opposition.

Trump has long claimed widespread voter fraud – despite never providing evidence – ever since his defeat in the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

In addition to requiring a photo ID to cast a ballot, the bill would also require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

There is no evidence of meaningful fraud in US elections, and critics say that the bill's measures would instead push millions of people away from casting ballots, because they don't have a passport or a paper copy of their birth certificate.

An analysis by the Brennan Center found more than 21 million Americans lack ready access to such documents. (AFP)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden