Franklin County may get to vote on seceding from Washington and joining a 51st state

Franklin County voters may get to give their opinion on splitting Washington state along the Cascades.

Depending on a decision expected by the commissioners next week, the November ballot could ask whether people in Franklin County agree with breaking away from Western Washington.

The Liberty State movement wants to create a 51st state with a divide along the crest of the Cascades.

Those in the movement say Eastern Washington creates a similar level of revenue to Idaho and believes it would be able to operate with less bureaucracy, making it less expensive.

The measure would not be binding, said coordinator Dani Bolyard, but it would give people the chance to tell the commissioners how they feel about forming a new state.

“This is not something that has been used often,” Bolyard said. “We have a lot of grievances about the way a lot of things are handled from the west side of the state and the people want the option of creating a new state.”

The move in Franklin County is part of a larger effort asking counties across Eastern Washington to place the measure on the November ballot.

Benton County commissioners listened to a public comment about the new state line during their meeting, but it’s not clear whether they would put it on the November ballot.

The organizers hope with support from local counties they can get Congress and the Legislature to act.

All of the commissioners supported the idea of the vote, though there was some disagreement about who would pay to put it on the ballot.

Commissioner Brad Peck supported putting it on the ballot, but wanted the proponents to cover the costs.

Bolyard said they were willing to fund the cost, but hadn’t heard from the county auditor about the amount.

This may be one of the sticking points for the movement, she told the Herald. She is waiting for costs from many of the counties.

51st State

Spokane Valley Rep. Matt Shea appears to be one of the architects of the Liberty State movement, but it’s only the latest effort to break the state in two.

Shea and fellow Spokane Valley Rep. Bob McCaslin sponsored a resolution in 2019 to the Legislature asking the Congress to divide the state. The resolution failed to get a hearing,

McCaslin has been part of other efforts to split the state, including one that Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, put his name to in 2015.

Klippert has thrown his support behind this current effort by showing up at rallies and talking with leaders.

Shea continues to be the vice president of the committee while his legislative aide Jim Robinson heads it up.

While the Congress would need to sign off on any move to split the state in two, the supporters of the measure believe the urban centers of Western Washington are determining what happens in Eastern Washington.

“Thus, the rural side of the state is failing to be represented on every major issue in the last 30 years,” the organizers wrote in the presentation given to the commissioners. “On the other side, legislation dear to the urban majority has been hampered to the consternation of many in Seattle.”

They point to an online survey conducted by KXLY-TV in Spokane that found about 75 percent of people supported splitting the state in two.

While Eastern Washington representatives have aligned themselves with the movement, Bolyard said it is about more than any one representative.

“This is an entirely grassroots effort,” she said. “We have groups in every county. ... This is about thousands of us trying to create a new state.”

The movement’s materials claim Eastern Washington raised $10 billion in tax revenue, through a combination of sales tax,r property tax levies, business taxes and federal funding.

That’s close to Idaho’s current revenues of about $9 billion.