BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Since the presidential election, 22 states have started petitions to withdraw from the United States and become their own countries.

The petitions are on the White House website and some have already gotten tens of thousands of signatures.

California also has a petition to secede.

The petitions ask the federal government to allow the states to peacefully withdraw from the union, and the movement is growing.

At last check, the California petition had more than 8,500 signatures.

Supporters need 17,000 more signatures in the next four weeks to get some sort of response from the White House.

So far the White House has not responded to Texas and Louisiana’s petitions.