Tens of thousands across 20 states demand to secede from U.S. after Obama won election

Although America carried President Obama confidently into a second term last Tuesday - not everyone is jumping for joy at the prospect of four more years.

Tens of thousands have put their names to secession petitions in 20 states, asking that they peacefully become independent from the rest of the country.

The documents have been lodged on a govement website We The People - and Texas has almost enough people behind its petition to warrant an official White House response.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of these states voted for Republican nominee Mitt Romney although petitions were also lodged in Democrat strongholds such as New York and Oregon.

Texas has gained the most so far with 23,000 people backing the wish to form an independent govement.

The right to petition the U.S. govement is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

If there is enough support - 25,000 signatures are needed - then it is sent to policy experts within the administration.

Other petitions are currently filed on the website including ones to 'Officially recognize American Sign Language as a community language and a language of instruction in schools', another to 'regulate inteet poography' and 'stop the drone strikes'.

Mitt Romney conceded defeat in the presidential election last Tuesday after the final count saw Obama with a total of 332 electoral college votes to Romney's 206.

Going it alone: So far citizens in 20 states have signed petitions asking to be allowed to gove themselves independently since Obama was voted back into office

It's over: Mitt Romney announced that he conceded the race to President Obama and stood on stage with his wife Ann, Paul and Janna Ryan