CBS News reports, Jan. 24, 2025, that a new effort to place a measure on the ballot that would ask California voters to approve the state’s secession from the U.S. has been cleared for signature gathering.
The measure, introduced by Marcus Evans of Fresno, must receive at least 546,651 signatures from registered voters, which is 5% of total votes cast for governor in the 2022 election, by this July 22.
According to the text of the measure, the state would be required to create a 20-member state commission, picked at random by the Secretary of State, to study California’s viability as an independent country in 2027 and to publish a report the following year.
The measure would also place the following question on the November 2028 ballot: “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?”
If the ballot question is approved, which would require at least 50% voter participation and 55% voting “yes,” the proposal would declare a “vote of no confidence in the United States of America”, but would not change the state’s government or its relationship with the U.S. The measure would also call for the removal of the U.S. flag from all state buildings.
According to a fiscal analysis from the Legislative Analyst’s office, the measure would cost the state $10 million in election-related costs and to form the new commission, along with $2 million in annual costs to operate the commission.
Evans has been part of other initiative campaigns calling for the state to secede, including a proposal following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election. Evans said their movement has a better chance compared to eight years ago. “We believe that now is the best time to Calexit – NOW we are better situated to make Calexit happen than in 2016,” he said.
UPDATE:
The San Diego County-based Independent California Institute has released a new poll purporting that more than 60% of Californians agree that they “would be better off California if peacefully seceded from the U.S. at some point in the next 10 years.” (Source: CalMatters, Jan. 24, 2025)
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