The visit came the day after a new ballot initiative asking voters whether the state should become an independent country was cleared by the California Secretary of State's office to begin gathering signatures. Could the Golden State just fly the coop, become its own nation and walk away from 175 years of union with the United States?

A new bid to place a measure on the ballot that would ask California voters to approve the state's secession from the U.S. has been cleared for signature gathering.