California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has approved the collection of signatures for a vote on the state’s secession from the United States and declaration of independence.
The vote is planned to be included in California’s 2028 ballot. To make this happen, 546,651 signatures must be gathered by July 2025. The proponents of the referendum argue that if at least 50% of registered voters in the state participate in the vote and over 55% vote “yes,” it will be considered a “vote of no confidence” in the federal government and a manifestation of the will of the people of California for independence.
However, the results of the vote will not have legal force, and the federal government is not required to consider them. The independence campaign, known as Calexit, emphasizes that Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 election was an “attack on everything that matters to California” and cites this as an additional reason for secession from the USA.
It is noteworthy that a similar initiative was recently supported by the Republican Party of Texas, calling for a referendum on the state’s independence.
