San Bernardino County vote to secede from California takes slim lead
Measure EE, a symbolic measure that would allow the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to start the process of seceding from California, is narrowly passing.
With just more than 55% of precincts reporting at 8 a.m., yes votes outpaced no votes 51.3% to 48.7%
According to the Voter Information Guide for San Bernardino County, “The Measure asks voters for their opinion on whether they want San Bernardino County elected representatives to study and advocate for all options to obtain the county’s fair share of state funding, including secession from the State of California.”
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Jeff Burum, a real estate developer from Rancho Cucamonga, spurred the debate after asking supervisors to consider placing a secession measure on the ballot and turning the county into a new state with the possible name of “Empire.”
He argued the state wasn’t providing the county with enough resources or funding to deal with its issues, including increased population growth.
“It’s time for us to get our fair share allocation,” he said during a July 26 supervisors’ meeting.
With roughly 2.18 million residents, San Bernardino County has the fifth-highest population in California. The county’s population is approximately equal to New Mexico’s and larger than 14 other states and the District of Columbia, according to census data.
The county is also the largest in the contiguous United States, with 20,068 square miles, and could fit New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island within its borders.
The idea of secession isn’t new, but whether San Bernardino County could realistically break off on its own is unlikely.
“There is a very low probability of success in this case,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College.
The Constitution requires that secession be approved by the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress to become a new state. The last time a new state was formed this way was in 1863 with West Virginia, Pitney said.
Since California first became a state in 1850, there have been at least 220 attempts to break it up, according to the California State Library. None have succeeded.
County spokesperson David Wert said a finance team conducted a per-capita comparison of state and federal revenue “captured” by California counties based on state controller data.
A list he emailed to the Daily Press showed San Bernardino County ranked 36 out of 56 counties in 2020.
“The County is taking a deeper dive into this and other data to reveal specific areas of concern, but clearly, there are significant disparities,” Wert said.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: San Bernardino County vote to secede from California too close to call
