Since the 1960’s, there have been talks on the west coast of the United States to create a new country. Most of the movement has been in California, where, after this past election, a larger movement started. The movement, called CalExit, was backed by the Yes California Independence Campaign. Josh Docherty, senior, said, “It most likely won’t happen.”

This sudden push to secede was because of the election results, as a large majority of the state was on Hillary Clinton’s side. Their plan was to get a special election in 2018 which would call all citizens of California to vote for the state’s independence from the United States. They would need about 590,000 signatures to get the vote initiated.  Michael Meyer, senior, said, “You can be mad that the person you voted for didn’t get elected as president, but wanting to leave the United States is too far in my opinion.”

In a poll published by Berkeley IGS, about 70 percent of Californians didn’t support the movement. This makes it seem as if the state would not successfully secede from the United States, even if the vote were to take place.

Another problem with the movement is the man who started it, Louis Marinelli. He is withdrawing from the campaign and has decided to live in Russia. He told his followers that he could no longer live under the American political or economic system.  

The vice president of the organization is also withdrawing and joining the California Freedom Coalition. This is another group trying to get the state to secede, but is much newer and has a smaller following.
These attempts to secede are not the first, and probably will not be the last. There have been approximately 200 unsuccessful attempts by Californians to secede from the country.