California Exit group files petition asking voters to leave

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A group calling for California to secede from the United States has submitted a new petition asking voters to start the process.

The Yes California Independence Campaign hopes to put a question on the November 2018 ballot authorizing an independence vote in spring 2019.

The group proposed the idea more than two years ago but a so-called “CalExit” movement gaining serious traction on social media after Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Vice President Marcus Ruiz Evans says if a majority of Californians approved the measure proponents hope to make their case to the United Nations.

The United States Constitution does not provide for state secession.

Experts say the only way to legally secede would be to change the Constitution, which requires the approval of Congress and 38 states.