Yes California

Yes California
Formation2015
FounderLouis J. Marinelli
FocusCalifornian independence
HeadquartersCA
Websitewww.yescalifornia.org Edit this at Wikidata
Map of US highlighting California

Yes California is a Californian political action committee that promotes the Independence of the state of California from the United States.[1][2]

It was founded in 2015 by Louis J. Marinelli, a right-wing political activist,[3][4] and its efforts have been supported by the Russian government.[5][6]

The organization promoted a proposed initiative to be placed on the 2019 California state ballot, which, if it had passed, would have required an independence plebiscite to be held in March 2019 on the question of California's independence. In order to comply with federal law, however, it would have still required an amendment to the United States Constitution.[7] In January 2017, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla gave his approval for the organization to gather petition signatures to put the initiative on the ballot.[8] The organization then halted their efforts in April, stating that they want to re-tool their proposal and campaign.[9] They were again cleared to collect petition signatures on September 10, 2020.[10]

In 2023, citing national divorce, Yes California announced a new ballot measure campaign that would divide parts of coastal California, including the Bay Area, from California to become an independent country while leaving the rest of the state in the Union.[11] The organization's president, Louis J. Marinelli, described the underlying objective of the new ballot measure was "to get the extreme, far-left liberals and progressives who are ruining the country as a whole, to go and build a progressive utopia of their own on the Pacific coast, and leave us out of it."

  1. ^ Krutov, Mark (June 13, 2019). "Сепаратист на марше. Американец, которого не взяли в автозак". Freedom Radio. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  2. ^ "Meet the man who wants to make California a sovereign entity". www.latimes.com. August 26, 2015. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  3. ^ Davis, Charles R. "A leading California secession advocate got funding and direction from Russian intelligence agents, US government alleges". Business Insider.
  4. ^ "Calexit leader Louis Marinelli ends campaign, says he's moving to Russia". Mic.
  5. ^ "How to Make California Great: Secede, With a Little Help From Putin". Bloomberg.com. December 7, 2016. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference kqed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Tech Insider (November 9, 2016). "What is 'Calexit' and how can California secede from the US?". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNBC20170127 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Miller & Luna 2017.
  10. ^ "Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation - Requires Vote on Whether California Should Become a Separate Country. Initiative Statute". CA SOS. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  11. ^ Tad Weber (February 24, 2023). "Should California get a divorce? New idea splits liberal coast, conservative inland". Fresno Bee. Retrieved March 7, 2023.