California secretary of state Alex Padilla confirmed that a proposal to split California into three separate states has become eligible to appear on the state’s ballot in November.
If successful, there would be California, Northern California, and Southern California. All three would include major cities and all would hold about the same amount of residents.
The new California would retain around 12 million residents and include Los Angeles and other counties along the southern coast.
Northern California would have about 13.3 million citizens and would include tech-centered city San Francisco and current capital Sacramento.
Meanwhile, Southern California would have 12.3 million residents and spread across 12 counties, including the San Diego area.
Could California split into 3 states? https://t.co/vAh09tstU8 pic.twitter.com/dHhk5xMC4s
— All Things WSB-TV (@AllThingsWSB) June 13, 2018
Billionaire Tim Draper has been pushing for the move, claiming that splitting the state would lead to improvements in infrastructure and education as well as lowering taxes.
“States will be more accountable to us and can cooperate and compete for citizens,” he told the Los Angeles Times in an email last year.
Draper was behind a similar initiative in 2014, but that plan failed. The new proposal, he says would give residents three smaller forms of government.
Last year California residents who supported Draper’s proposal began collecting signatures to get the measure onto the ballot.
If the new proposal were to be passed in November by citizens, it would need to be approved by Congress.
