So long, California: Major county votes to study secession
Rain clouds hover over Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. Voters in one of Southern California's largest counties have delivered a pointed if largely symbolic message about frustration in the nation's most populous state: Officials will soon begin studying whether to break free from California and form a new state. Voters in one of Southern California's largest counties have delivered a pointed if largely symbolic message about frustration in the nation's most populous state: Officials will soon begin studying whether to break free from California and form a new state. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — One of California’s largest counties will consider whether to secede and establish a new state, a largely symbolic move driven by economic stress and frustration with state government.
Voters in San Bernardino County — home to 2.2 million people — approved an advisory ballot measure that directs officials to study secession.
Some believe that the county east of Los Angeles is being shortchanged potentially billions of dollars in state and federal funding.
There have been more than 220 attempts to break up California over its 172-year history, all of which have failed. Secession requires approval by Congress and the Legislature, which is highly unlikely.