California could undergo a major change after the midterm elections this November. "A proposal by venture capitalist Tim Draper gathered enough votes to divide California into three states," according to CNN. The division of California would be the first since 1863 when West Virginia separated from Virginia. California would be delegated into the following three states: California, Northern California, and Southern California.

California as a state would hold "12.3 million people, coming in as the eighth-most-populous state in the United States," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

California would be the smallest of the three states, containing major cities such as Los Angeles, and Long Beach. The second largest of the three divided states would be Northern California, "populated with 13.3 million people and ranked as the fifth-most-populous state in the country." Southern California would be the largest of the three divided states and would contain 13.9 million people. It would be the fourth-most-populous state in the United States.

Why the need for change?

Tim Draper gathered "more than 402,468 votes for Cal 3, enough to earn a spot on the November ballot." His third attempt at reducing the states' size has made it to the final platform. But why such a persistent attempt at dividing the Golden State?

Draper's belief is that local residents can be served better and more efficiently if the government is closer to its locals. California is an enormous state, and bringing the divide would make the states small enough for their governments to provide a more centralized focus on the local population needs.

Specifically, the would-be smaller governments would target the areas of "education costs, higher taxes, and infrastructure." Madison Park goes on to state, "that the California states will have more of the region's influence within the federal government with more seats in the U.S."

What's wrong with Cal 3?

Dividing California comes with a couple of challenges, including the allocation of resources, public universities, and the division of the rich and poor populations.

First and foremost, Californian taxpayers would have to fork out a vast amount of money to pay for the three-state transition. According to Nick Visser of CNN Politics, "universities, parks, and retirement systems" all would have to be allocated to the different states.

The racial and ethnic demographics would take a hit as well. It would create more division including an ethnicity imbalance throughout each state. According to CNN, Northern California would have "21 percent more white, and a third more Asian than present-day California, with whites making up half of the population and Asians nearly a fifth."
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