'Calexit' effort to make California independent nation is back

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The effort to split California off from the rest of the United States is officially back.

In a tweet Wednesday, the "Calexit" movement said they plan to relaunch the ballot measure campaign on Feb. 14.

In their campaign statement, they wrote that the date is symbolic because it will "effectively be remembered as California's petition for divorce from the United States".

This isn't the first time this has been proposed, but the idea has been gaining some popularity.

In 2014, a Reuters poll had 20 percent of Californians supporting the idea. In 2017, support grew to 32 percent.

If the measure gets approved for the 2018 ballot and voters decide to have a vote on breaking away from the U.S., an independence referendum could be held in May of 2021.

But even then, it's a long shot. It would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which takes two-thirds of Congress and three-quarters of all the United States.