California Might Become Three Separate States

A proposal to split California into three states has made its way onto the ballot for the midterm elections this coming November. The initiative, known as Cal-3, has been proposed by billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper, according to BBC.

Cal-3 proposes to split the large state into “Northern California,” which would be the Bay Area, Sacramento and surrounding northern areas; “Southern California,” which would be a large chunk of the eastern part, from San Diego all the way up to Fresno; and “California,” which would be the coastal stretch between Los Angeles and Monterrey.

Voters will decide if California should be split into three states. https://t.co/1lZMYL1EuD pic.twitter.com/fT8skpEU5Z

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 13, 2018

In order to get his bid on the ballot, Draper needed to collect at least 400,000 signatures from California residents. He has attempted this feat over the past six years, and was finally successful with 402,468 signatures. This is the first time in over 150 years that a proposal like this has been up for a vote; the last time was in 1863 when West Virginia split from Virginia.

According to USA Today, Draper has explained why Cal-3 is a favorable measure, most importantly that the split will lead to improved organization and lower taxes. He created a similar bid back in 2014, which proposed dividing California into six smaller states. The bid was set to be on the November 2016 ballot, boasting 1.3 million signatures, but the California secretary of state deemed about 40% of those signatures illegitimate.

If the measure passes in November, it would still require Congressional approval.