Overview

• CalExit has submitted a proposed statewide initiative seeking a vote to begin a process toward separating California from the United States.
• Co-founder Marcus Ruiz Evans says the campaign now has a larger network, staff, political connections and more funding, and he outlines an advisory vote followed by negotiations with Congress.
• Commentators including Mother Jones’ Clara Jeffrey are urging a “soft secession,” calling for blue states to use economic leverage such as divesting public pensions from companies based in red states.
• A June YouGov poll for the Independent California Institute found notable openness to a peaceful, legal split, though the 500-person sample size limits confidence in the results.
• Significant obstacles remain, including a requirement to gather at least 546,651 valid signatures to reach the ballot, prior ballot-plan failures, and long-standing constitutional limits on unilateral secession.