Should San Bernardino secede from California? Americans weigh in

More Americans oppose than support a proposal for San Bernardino County to secede from California, and form its own state, according to a new poll.

Earlier this month a narrow majority of San Bernardino voters voted in favor of Measure EE, which said county officials should “study and advocate for all options to obtain the county’s fair share of state funding, including secession from the State of California.”

In total, 51.3 percent of San Bernardino electors backed the measure on November 8, versus 48.7 percent who were opposed.

However, according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll conducted for Newsweek, the plan is not attracting much support in the wider country.

The survey found just 29 percent of respondents think San Bernardino should be allowed to “secede” from the Golden State, versus 37 percent who are opposed. The remaining 34 percent answered “don’t know.”

Across the U.S., a representative sample of 1,500 eligible voters was surveyed for the poll, which was conducted on November 17.

San Bernardino County had an estimated population of 2,181,654 according to the 2020 U.S. census, higher than the figure recorded in 14 U.S. states.

Jeff Burum, a real estate tycoon, is among those suggesting San Bernardino County should leave California, arguing the county doesn’t get enough support at the state level.

Speaking to The San Bernardino Sun, he said: “I would never willfully want to leave this state.

“But I can tell you this, if you’re just going to continue to abuse me and abuse us, sometimes you don’t have a choice but to stand up for yourself.”

Burum also suggested San Bernardino County should be called “Empire,” if it becomes its own state.

According to the U.S. constitution, San Bernardino County would need the consent of both Congress and the California legislature to become its own state.

The last time part of a state successfully broke away and became a state in its own right was in 1863, when West Virginia was admitted into the U.S. as a state independent of Virginia.

A number of states, including Texas, Alaska and California, contain fully-fledged independence movements seeking to break away from the U.S.

In June, a motion was approved at the Texas Republican Party convention in Houston, suggesting a referendum be held on Texas breaking away from the union.

It read: “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.”

Speaking to Newsweek, Cynthia Nicoletti, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said it is unconstitutional for a state to decide by itself to leave the union.

She said: “States can’t unilaterally secede from the U.S.

“This was established both by the outcome of our Civil War and by the Supreme Court in the 1869 case Texas v. White. Article I, section 10 of the Constitution also prohibits states from entering into alliances, treaties, or confederations.”