SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Advocates looking for California to secede from the United States are trying for a third time since President Donald Trump’s election to get a statewide vote on the issue.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Monday that the initiative proponents can begin collecting signatures.
The latest version of the so-called Calexit initiative would ask voters about secession in 2020. If it passes, a second election would be held a year later asking voters to affirm the decision.
The initiative is proposed by Marcus Ruiz Evans and Louis Marinelli of a group called Yes California, which proposed California independence initiatives in 2015 and 2017.
A rival group proposed a Calexit initiative last year but did not turn in the required signatures.
Proponents have until Oct. 17 to collect nearly 366,000 signatures.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
