California Split Fails

Sacramento, CA — The initiative calling for California to be separated into six states failed to make the 2016 ballot. Its failure was due to signatures.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, only 66 percent of the 1.137 million signatures submitted appear to be valid.

Those signatures were submitted in July by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper. He was behind the initiative, claiming the state’s 38.3 million residents would be better represented because their diverse interests have become ungovernable. Critics countered the constitutional amendment would create some wealthy states, like Silicon Valley, and poor ones in the northern and central areas of the state. The six states would have been Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California.

The initiative needed 800,000 valid voter signatures to make the ballot.