They say third time’s a charm.
That’s how California secessionists feel as they try again to get a long-shot measure on the ballot that could lead to the Golden State leaving the Union.
Sound crazy? Constitutional experts say the movement is hogwash — but don’t tell that to its supporters.
“We’re absolutely confident the time is now,” said Marcus Ruiz Evans, 47, who in the late 2010s tried twice unsuccessfully to get “Calexit” off the ground.
In both cases, Evans was able to get the ballot measure into circulation, which means it is in the signature-collecting phase.
The California Secretary of State on Thursday announced that Evans’ ballot measure was collecting signatures again. Evans must collect a whopping 546,651 signatures, or 5% of the votes cast for governor during the November election in 2022, to qualify for the ballot. He doesn’t have much time. The signatures must be submitted by July 22.
Evans said the most signatures he ever received was around 100,000.
But he’s adamant that this time is different.
Evans thinks that with Republicans continuously hammering the Golden State —including threatening to put conditions on federal aid for the Southern California wildfires — and President Donald Trump amassing power as tech and business powers coalesce around him, residents are fed up and want to leave the United States.
“Republicans now hate us in California more than ever,” he said. “The hate was palpable in 2016. But now it’s palpable and focused.” He added that his movement has more of a chance because other liberal political trends, such as the #Resistance movement, have lost steam.
But even if the ballot measure passes, secession is unlikely.
The measure would create a commission to explore the viability of California leaving the country and put a legally nonbinding question on the November 2028 ballot asking: “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?”
Evans said that while this vote doesn’t technically change anything from a legal perspective, it could serve as a milestone for the movement, showing how much Californians want the exit to happen.
Constitutional attorneys told The Standard that supporters of the movement shouldn’t get too excited.
Rory Little, a national authority on constitutional issues, said it’s strictly prohibited for states to leave the U.S.
“The only historical evidence you have is that you can’t secede,” said Little. “That was called the Civil War. … I think we’re talking pie in the sky.”