California secessionists foiled again by signature shortfall
Alan Riquelmy
(CN) — A movement to make California its own nation didn’t get enough signatures to meet a July 22 deadline for a ballot initiative, though its leaders say they’ll continue to push for sovereignty.
CalExit hoped to gather the necessary 546,651 signatures to get a nonbinding question on the 2028 ballot. Just over a week away from the California secretary of state’s deadline to submit those signatures, CalExit announced that it won’t turn in any names.
Instead, the organization will refile its proposed ballot question while focusing on fundraising and education outreach to meet its new goal.
Marcus Ruiz Evans, founder and president of CalExit, said in a phone interview with Courthouse News that he intends to refile within weeks. He hopes a new signature gathering period could start as early as September.
“This means a lot to a lot of people,” Ruiz Evans said.
He said his organization was close to securing enough signatures. However, with the deadline nearing and cognizant that tens of thousands of signatures are disqualified in any initiative process, CalExit opted to wait and try again.
“I started this movement more than 10 years ago, and this is the closest we have ever gotten,” Ruiz Evans said in a statement. “This momentum is the perfect launching pad for our refiling.”
According to Ruiz Evans, getting enough signatures would, in fact, set the stage for two elections. The first would occur next year, likely in November, and include two questions: Whether voters wanted the question of secession on the ballot in 2028 and if they wanted a blue ribbon panel created to examine secession.
A successful vote in 2026 would set the stage for a November 2028 vote on the nonbinding secession question.
In its current incarnation, the question would state: “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?” If more than half of California’s registered voters cast ballots with at least 55% approval, it would equate to a vote of no confidence in the United States and the people’s expression that they want to become an independent country.
The vote wouldn’t mean California secedes, only that voters said they want secession.
Ruiz Evans said the language might remain unchanged in the new filing, though it’s possible it’ll get tweaked.
A successful 2028 vote also would create a commission to determine the state’s ability to survive as its own nation.
State officials estimated costs at $10 million in one-time election costs and to create the commission, with another $2 million in annual costs for the commission.
Ruiz Evans said CalExit has made significant leaps in recent months and is poised to get enough signatures once a new collection period begins.
He pointed to the actions of the Donald Trump administration, saying that his office was inundated with calls after federal authorities, including Marines, descended on Los Angeles in the wake of protests against immigration enforcement action.
Also, CalExit’s presence at this year’s Democratic state convention drew interest in the movement. It provided an opportunity for CalExit members to meet with officials and candidates for political office.
The launch of the Cali Nation Coin, a cryptocurrency token, also helped draw attention to the group.
Additionally, the organization is planning an event featuring online influencers to promote the movement. It’ll also participate in a film festival. Several hopeful filmmakers will have two days to create a film promoting CalExit. Ruiz Evans said the winning film will appear in some theaters.
Other events include an eight-week educational tour from San Diego to Sacramento, which will include speeches at the state Capitol.
The topic of secession has raised eyebrows and questions about whether it actually could occur.
Ruiz Evans has pointed to a Civil War-era U.S. Supreme Court decision, Texas v. White, which he said gives states the power to secede. He’s noted that the decision stated people can secede “with consent of the states.”
Others have pushed back on that argument.
David A. Carrillo, executive director of UC Berkeley Law’s California Constitution Center, has argued that Texas v. White isn’t legal authority supporting a state’s ability to secede. The high court’s opinion, in fact, declared that states have no right to secede.