By Marleld Duran

Staff Writer

Roughly 80 college protests occurred throughout the nation after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, nearly half of which were in California, according to CNN. After the election, the idea of California seceding from the United States became increasingly popular.

It was after this that a petition to secede, dubbed the Calexit, was created. Yes California Independent Campaign, a secession organization, received 15,000 Twitter followers, 30,000 Facebook followers, and 13,000 volunteers who signed up to collect signatures.

In 2019, California citizens will be able to vote on whether or not they want to officially secede.

“You will have this historic opportunity because the Yes California Independent Campaign will qualify a citizen’s initiative for the 2018 ballot,” stated YesCalifornia.org. “If passed [it] would call for a special election for Californians to vote for or against the independence of California from the United States.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, California is the sixth largest economy in the world. However, when the cost of living is factored in, its ranking drops from the sixth to 11th largest economy.

Although California is known to have some of the highest debts and taxes in the country, such expanses are due to supporting other states. California is forced to charge fees, raise citizen’s taxes, and borrow money. Secession would allow for the state to repay the citizens and focus on its future plans.

However, according to the Daily Nexus, if secession were to happen, the balance between Democrats and Republicans in the nation would be heavily affected. The United States would lean more towards conservatism rather than having relatively equal support for the two parties.

“I want California to be all it can, and [the California National Party] feels the political and cultural connection to the US is holding us back from our potential,” stated president of Yes California, Louis Marinelli.