Add Phillips and Weld to the list of northeastern Colorado counties getting serious about secession.

The commissioners of both counties voted Monday to place a question on the fall ballot asking voters if they wish to divorce Colorado and create a 51st state.

Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway predicted secession will pass in his county on a 60-40 vote. He quoted Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, who helped overthrow British rule, and warned others not to be dismissive of the movement.

” ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win,’ ” Conway said.

Commissioners in 10 northeastern counties have been considering a breakaway since the end of the legislative session — a lawmaking season they said was the last straw after years of frustration over dealing with Denver-area lawmakers’ perceived indifference toward the concerns of rural Colorado.

Bills were passed at the expense of farmers, oil and gas producers and gun owners, Weld Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer said.

“I know from meeting with people, they truly believe rural communities are now under attack,” Kirkmeyer said. “There are plenty who told us that we should vote Denver and Boulder off the island.”

Yuma, Cheyenne and Sedgwick counties already have OK’d secession ballot questions. Logan and Washington county commissioners will vote on the issue Tuesday, and Kit Carson County will take it up Wednesday.

Morgan County has set an Aug. 26 deadline for signatures to be submitted to place the question on the fall ballot. Lincoln County officials are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Four public meetings with Weld County residents this summer convinced the commissioners secession is in order.

“They want change,” commission Chairman Bill Garcia said. “They want to be heard. Policies being passed by the Legislature in Denver are having negative impacts on the lives of rural Coloradans.”

If voters do go for it, forming a 51st state will face huge obstacles, including approval in the Legislature and Congress, said state Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, who is running for governor against Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Still, positive votes for the measure will send a message that rural Coloradans are tired of being overlooked, Brophy said.

“It will tell the governor that he has a huge problem with people in the northern part of the state,” he said.

Weld County resident Vicki Anderson told commissioners she also wants the question on the ballot, but only in hopes that “it is resoundingly defeated for this absurd notion.”