American venture capitalist Tim Draper is seeking to split California into three states and his initiative has officially qualified for the November ballot.
The plan includes a Northern California state made up of San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sacramento and many other mostly rural counties. A Southern California state would be made up of San Diego, the Inland Empire, and portions of the southern Central Valley. The third state of California would include Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and many other mostly coastal counties.
The "Cal 3 campaign" announced that it received around 600,000 signatures, which is almost double the amount needed to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot.
"California's diverse regions require government attention that is specifically tailored to address that area's needs. Dividing California into smaller states will help elected officials decide which laws and tax regulations best suit that specific region, resulting in more responsive government," it says on the Cal3 website.
A lot of proponents for the measure claim they want a fresh start and believe that having three separate Californias will help the school systems, agriculture, and economy.
This is not the first attempt to split up the state, there has been the proposed state of "Jefferson" that would divide Northern California from Southern California and would span to Southern Oregon.
If approved by voters, the plan to split California would still be up for approval by Congress.
Photo: cal3.com