While billionaire venture capitalist Timothy Draper recently claimed he had garnered enough signatures to place his proposal to split California into six separate states on the ballot in November 2016; opponents of the plan don't believe that it would succeed.

Mr. Draper has proposed to split California into six states: Jefferson, Silicon Valley, North California, Central California, West California and South California. He claims that splitting the country's most populous state would bring better, more local governments for all Californians.

But, opponents say the six smaller states would vary in size and demography as well as lead to more disparity in incomes of Californians. Moreover, the whole process of creating a new state by dividing an existing state is a very complex process.

The breakup will require approval from Congress, and the president would have to sign it into law.

The Legislature and county boards of supervisors would have to appoint a board of 24 commissioners to oversee the breakup. If it fails to resolve financial and property issues among the new states within two years, then each new state would keep all assets in its borders, and would have to divide the state's debts among them, based on their population.

Those counties that would not happy with the breakup would be able to appeal the decision, seeking their reassignment to other states. It is a matter of fact that disputes can take several decades to get resolved. Disputes between Virginia and West Virginia, after their formation in 1861, lasted for around five decades.