Recently, it was announced that enough petition signatures were certified to place an initiative on this fall's ballot to divide California into three states - Northern California, California, and Southern California. 

Despite the fact that the effort is being funded by wealthy tech investor Tim Draper and it has garnered enough support to make it onto the ballot, the measure would face many constitutional hurdles before becoming law. 

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar spoke to the National Constitution Center, NBC News, and SF Gate about the issue.

Amar has written extensively about Draper’s plans, and he said the potential of Republicans losing ground in the Senate, combined with Democrats' fear of losing a huge state rich in Electoral College votes, would cause plenty of hesitation from lawmakers even if it were to even make to a congressional vote. 

National Constitution Center blog post

NBC News article

SF Gate article