Split California Into 6 States? Petition Moves Ahead

Californians may soon get a chance to vote on splitting their state into six smaller ones, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Venture capitalist Tim Draper has gotten formal approval to start collecting petitions for his "Six Californias" idea. If he can get about 807,000 names by July 18, the idea would go before voters. Of course, even it passes, it would still have to get through Congress, making this seemingly closer to a thought experiment than a potential reality. "I can't imagine this would ever go anywhere," says a government expert at Dartmouth.

But California, "as it is, is ungovernable,” Draper tells ABC News. “It is more and more difficult for Sacramento to keep up with the social issues from the various regions of California." Under his plan, the United States would add:

• Silicon Valley (San Francisco and San Jose)
• South California (San Diego and Orange County)
• West California (LA and Santa Barbara)
• Central California (Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stockton)
• North California (Sacramento)
• Jefferson (Redding and Eureka)