Initiative to Split California into Three States Qualifies for November Ballot

 If "Six Californias" wouldn't work, try three – that may be one thought for those who have been following prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Tim Draper, for the past several years attempting to reconfigure America's most populous state and the world's fifth largest economy.

"Last September, Draper submitted the modified version [pdf] that he calls 'Cal-3'" to the Secretary of State's office, reports John Myers for the Los Angeles Times on June 12.

On Tuesday, elections officials said a sample of the signatures projects more than 402,468 of them are valid — more than enough to be included on a November ballot that could see as many as 16 propositions by the deadline for certification later this month.

According to Ballotpedia, the "California Three States Initiative" will appear as initiated state statute on November 6, 2018, along with at least four other ballot measures that have qualified as of June 13.

Looking at the "compare the Cas" in the campaign website, 40 of the state's 58 counties would be in Northern California, extending from the Oregon border to Silicon Valley and east to much of the Central Valley; California extends from San Benito County along the coast to Los Angeles County, comprising six counties, and Southern California composed of 12 counties including Orange, San Diego, the Inland Empire and lower San Joaquin Valley.

Draper is hardly the first to want to slice up the state or split it off, reported Myers in December 2016, as there have been over 200 attempts since the state's admission into the union in 1849.

“Three states will get us better infrastructure, better education and lower taxes,” Tim Draper said in an email to The Times last summer when he formally submitted the proposal, adds Myers.

Better infrastructure and lower taxes will also directly appear on the November ballot as well. but voters will have to choose one of the two by deciding to support of oppose the Voter Approval for Gas and Vehicle Taxes Initiative, an initiated constitutional amendment that would repeal November's 12-cents per gallon tax increase. The measure is expected to qualify for the ballot.

Should "Three Californias" pass on Election Day, the state legislature would have to agree to the proposal, as would Congress.

Hat tip to The New York Times/California Today.