Fed up with Trump, Washington politicians and just about all the other 49 states?
Even though it’s a long, long shot, you may get to back a proposed California ballot measure demanding a constitutional convention that would alter America’s founding document.
And the person pushing the move is most concerned about a constitutional change that would enable states to secede from the union.
Didn’t that have something to do with the Civil War?
Nevertheless, an initiative calling for a constitutional convention to propose a series of amendments to the U.S. Constitution, including creating a way for states to secede, was submitted to the California Attorney General’s Office.
“Steps to secession need to be in the Constitution,” initiative author Clare Hedin told City News Service Thursday. “No one today would even enter an airplane without an exit strategy being in place, let alone a lifelong agreement defining power structures.”
Other proposed amendments in what supporters dubbed as “The California Call for a Constitutional Convention,” include guaranteeing health care for all, providing “free, high quality universal education,” abolishing the Electoral College or having proportional representation in the Electoral College.
“We’re excited to raise the level of dialogue around radical changes in power structures,” Hedin said.
“We believe the U.S. political system has had its day and has proved its limitations. It’s time for something new, something more intelligent and with a broader vision of the global community in which we now live and have a responsibility to contribute to positively.”
A provision of the Constitution allows for states to call a constitutional convention to propose amendments — which would then be submitted to the states for approval — but it has never been used.
Traditionally politicians and academics worry that a constitutional convention called for one purpose could create wholesale changes to the entire U.S. Constitution.
If a proposed initiative is accepted for petition circulation, the Attorney General’s Office typically issues an official title and summary 65 days after the submission of the initiative, which allows signature gathering to begin.
Even if the initiative gets the state OK to be circulated, and even if it draws enough valid signatures to be placed before the voters, and even if the voters pass it, the measure would only be sending a message to federal authorities as California can’t call a convention on its own.
—Staff and wire reports