Proposal to split California into three states will be blocked from ballot, court orders

Joel Shannon | USA TODAY

A measure proposing California be split into three separate states will be removed from the state's November ballot after a Wednesday order by the state's Supreme Court.

"Significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition's validity," the order reads.

The proposition could, however, appear on a future ballot if the court ultimately rules in its favor.

Proposition 9 – which would split the Golden State into California, Northern California and Southern California – was declared eligible for California's ballot in June.

It's just the latest setback for one of more than 200 long-shot efforts to split the Golden State over the years.

The challenge to Proposition 9's validity was brought to the court by the Planning and Conservation League, an organization with a goal of protecting "California from the destruction caused by fast-paced and poorly planned developments," according to the group's website.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper – who spent more than $1.7 million on the initiative – criticized the decision in a statement: "Whether you agree or not with this initiative, this is not the way democracies are supposed to work."

He says splitting the state would lead to improvements in infrastructure and education while lowering taxes: “States will be more accountable to us and can cooperate and compete for citizens," he told the Los Angeles Times in an email last summer.

In 2014, Draper failed with a similar proposal after California's secretary of state deemed about 40 percent of the signatures in support of the initiative to be illegitimate.

The Planning and Conservation League argues that dividing the nation's most populous state into three would drastically change California's government structure beyond what can be accomplished through a ballot initiative.

Contributing: The Associated Press