Plan to divide California into THREE states will be put to voters in November after billionaire’s petition gains more than 400,000 signatures
Proposal was put forward by 59-year-old tech venture capitalist Tim Draper
He argues splitting up Golden State will make communities better governed
Voters will give their opinion in November but Congress will still have final say
By TARIQ TAHIR
DAILYMAIL.COM
13 June 2018
A plan to divide California into three separate states will be put to voters in November’s mid-term elections after securing enough signatures to be put on the ballot.
The proposal is the brainchild of billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper, 59, who made his fortune as an early investor in Skype and Hotmail, and launched a campaign called ‘Cal 3’.
It has now received more than 402,468 valid signatures, passing the threshold required by state law, CNN reported.
Under the proposal, the central state of California would consist of the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey and San Benito.
The southern state would comprise Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, and Mono.
Northern California would include 40 counties from Santa Cruz to the Oregon border, including San Francisco and Sacramento, the state’s current capital.
But even if the plan is approved at the ballot box, Congress would still have the final say on whether it can go ahead.
California’s economy overtaken that of the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data released last month.
The Golden State’s gross domestic product rose by $127 billion from 2016 to 2017, surpassing $2.7 trillion, driven by strong productivity.
Draper has said that partitioning California would allow regional communities to make better and more sensible decisions on pressing issues such as schools, taxes and deteriorating infrastructure.
The plan for partitioning California would be parallel to other states that have been partitioned, including the Dakotas, the Carolinas, and the Virginias.
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