A proposal in California has been submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday campaigning for the state to secede from the United States.
The proposed “Calexit” initiative would ask voters to repeal part of the state constitution that declares California an inseparable part of the U.S.
A recent poll suggested that one in three California residents would support a possible secession from the U.S. due to their opposition to President Donald Trump. No mention has been made of the president in the proposal.
If the proposal qualifies for the ballot and is approved by voters, it could be a step to a future vote on whether the state would break away from the rest of the nation.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the group behind the proposal, Yes California Independence Campaign, was cleared to begin attempting to collect nearly 600,000 voter signatures needed to place the plan on the ballot.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the supporters of the proposal have said California does not share the same cultural ideas as the rest of America.
Similar attempts to establish California as a nation, or break it into multiple states, have failed.
The proposed constitutional amendment, titled California Nationhood, would also ask voters to repeal language that states the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law. If approved, it calls for scheduling a vote in 2019 to ask voters, “Should California become a free, sovereign and independent country?”
“America already hates California, and America votes on emotions,” Marcus Evans, vice president of Yes California told to the Los Angeles Times. “I think we’d have the votes today if we held it.”
The campaign must submit the valid voter signatures by July 25 to qualify for the ballot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
