On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court ruled against putting a proposition on the ballot in November that would have divided the state into three separate entities.
The court explained its decision to take this action in a written statement, stating that it did so "because significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition's validity and because we conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election."
The week before last, an environmental organization filed a lawsuit to have the issue struck from the ballot. The group contended that in order to make significant changes to the way the state is governed in accordance with the California constitution, it would be necessary to call for a constitutional convention, which in turn requires a supermajority vote from both chambers of the California legislature.