When the governor was forced to revise his tax initiative and merge with a rival measure from the California Federation of Teachers, time was not on his side. While the campaign is still racing to qualify for the November ballot by collecting signatures, the governor has found favor in the form of donations. Big checks have been flooding the campaign and $3 million in new donations were just recently disclosed; in addition, overall almost $11 million has been collected in just the past few weeks. NBC News reports:

“The large contributions are coming from labor unions and education coalitions in a preview of what the fall campaign will look like. The California Federation of Teachers, which had been floating a rival measure before joining with the governor, kicked in $500,000. The California School Employees Association donated $800,00. The California Medical Association wrote a check for $250,000. And Assembly Speaker John Perez's campaign committee contributed $100,000.”

In order to qualify for the November ballot, 807,615 valid voter signatures must be collected no later than early May. Since the revised measure got started so late in the game, the large donations are a byproduct of the short window of time and the expense of collecting signatures in such a narrow frame. It is being estimated that it could cost as much as $8 million to qualify the ballot over such a short period because signature gatherers are reportedly being paid $3 a signature. Of course, if the measure qualifies as expected, the costs will continue to grow as proponents attempt to rally support among voters.