Effort underway to split California into three separate states

(FOX 11) - A plan to split California into three separate states may be on next year's ballot.

Official paperwork was filed with the secretary of state's office last week. Tech billionaire Tim Draper, who came up with a six-state split in 2014, is behind the three-state plan.

"Northern California" would include the San Francisco Bay Area counties to the Oregon border, "Southern California" would begin in Fresno and cover most of the southern state.

A new "California" would be for part of Los Angeles County and most of the coastal areas.

Draper says the political and economic diversity of California is too difficult to govern, while opponents say the plan is chaotic.

Supporters need 586,000 signatures to put the plan on next year's ballot.

If passed, it would also still need permission from congress to replace California with three states.

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