Amid #Calexit Talk, Oregon Voters Submit Ballot Proposal To Secede
(CBS SF) – With the election of Donald Trump as president prompting talk among some Californians to secede from the union, two residents in neighboring Oregon have already submitted a ballot proposal for the state to become its own country.
According to The Oregonian newspaper, attorney Jennifer Rollins and writer Christian Trejbal of Portland have submitted a petition for the 2018 ballot called the "Oregon Secession Act."
"Oregonian values are no longer the values held by the rest of the United States," Trejbal told the newspaper.
The text of the Oregon Secession Act (.pdf) has language that would be open to forming a new nation with "other states and Canadian provinces," including California.
Californians upset with the election result took to Twitter using the hashtags #Calexit and #Caleavefornia, calling for the Golden State to form its own nation as the U.S. transitions to a Trump presidency.
A group called the Yes California Independence Campaign has called for a ballot measure that would call for a special election to put the issue of secession in front of voters.
The secession movement has raised the interest of Silicon Valley venture capitalist Shervin Pihevar, who said he would provide financial backing in a campaign for California to become its own nation.
Pihevar even tweeted a picture of a revised flag of an independent California.
Supporters of the Oregon Secession Act plan to gather 1,000 signatures for the state Attorney General to draft a ballot title for the measure, the first of many steps (.pdf) to place the measure on the ballot.
