ALTURAS, Calif., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Modoc County, Calif., joined a movement to secede from the state with its Board of Supervisors voting to join neighboring Siskiyou County in secession.

A measure to push for a new state of Jefferson was approved by a 4-0 vote Tuesday, with one supervisor absent, Board Chairman Geri Byrne said.


The movement is a signal from the state's northernmost and least populated counties that "California is essentially ungovernable in its present size. We lack the representation to address the problems that affect the north [part of the] state," said Mark Baird, spokesman for the Jefferson Declaration Committee.

He added his group sought the involvement of 12 counties to form their own state.

Siskiyou County passed a secession measure Sept. 3, the Redding Record Searchlight reported.