AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine’s top election official said Wednesday that organizers of a citizen initiative on a Down East racino failed to turn in enough petitions to force a referendum this year, but he left the door open to a possible statewide vote in 2007.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said that of more than 60,500 signatures submitted a month earlier to his office, nearly 13,000 were invalidated. Among the reasons were names not being certified as those of registered voters, duplicate signatures and signatures made by someone else.

At least 50,519 signatures had to be collected and validated in order to force a referendum.

Election officials said the 12,985 invalidations were for reasons that are fairly typical in initiative campaigns, such as a husband or wife signing for their spouse, and do not involve criminal misconduct.

But Dunlap said the total number of accepted signatures could not be determined yet because the attorney general’s office is investigating allegations of irregularities, which could include criminal misconduct, in the gathering of signatures not including those already invalidated.

The “irregularities” could include forgery, said Deputy of State Doug Dunbar.

Steve Lechner, attorney for the group that launched the petition drive, said no decision has been made on whether to challenge Dunlap’s ruling. A legal challenge must be filed in Superior Court within five business days of the secretary’s ruling.

Lechner says a meeting has been scheduled for today between his group, the Washington County Tribal Track Coalition, the secretary of state and attorney general’s offices to clarify some of the issues raised by state officials before any decision on an appeal can be made.

Lechner said one matter that needs clarification is whether the “irregularities” mentioned by the secretary refer to activities his group spotted and reported to state officials.

“Our group flagged an issue with one circulator who was not playing by the rules and brought it to the attention of the secretary of state,” said the attorney.

Also unresolved is the status of a number of petitions that were turned in after the Jan. 30 deadline, Lechner said.

The Passamaquoddy Indian tribe wants the go-ahead to build an all-weather harness racing track, with as many as 1,500 slots in Calais or Machias.

Gov. John Baldacci has twice vetoed bills calling for a Down East racino. The latter bill called for a referendum.

While Dunlap on Wednesday ruled out a referendum this year, he said racino backers may still collect signatures until Aug. 4 if they want to get their question on the 2007 ballot.

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