On October 15, this blog reported that two billionaires, John Arnold of Texas and Michael Bloomberg of New York, had contributed, together, $2,750,000 toward the campaign to pass Measure 90 in Oregon. Measure 90 would impose a top-two primary in Oregon.

On October 17, Arnold donated another $250,000 to the “yes” campaign, and Bloomberg donated another $400,000, so the total for the two individuals is now $3,400,000. Much of the money was transferred to Canal Partners Media, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Marietta, Georgia. An additional $50,000 was given to IndependentVoting, also known as CUIP (Commmittee for a Unified Independent Party), formerly known as the New Alliance Party.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, speaking in his own country, recently criticized the U.S. electoral college. See this Washington Post story. The story quotes him as saying that twice, the person who got the most popular votes failed to take the office. Actually, that has happened four times, in 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Two Maine state legislators are sponsoring an initiative petition for ranked-choice voting for gubernatorial elections. The petition drive will begin immediately after the November 4, 2014 election. See this story. The first line of the story describes the move as a “referendum”, but it is obviously an initiative. A referendum asks voters if they wish to retain or repeal a new law that had just passed a legislature.

The state that has come closest to using ranked-choice voting for state office is Vermont, but even though the legislature passed such a measure a few years ago, the Governor vetoed it. Vermont doesn’t have the initiative process. Thanks to Rob Richie and Thomas MacMillan for the link.