AUGUSTA (AP) – Petition circulators for the Indian racino referendum may have forged names of the dead, a state election official told a legislative committee that is considering ways to improve the citizen initiative process.

Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn told the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee on Monday that an investigation into the Washington County racino petition process is focusing on names of people who died before the date of their signatures on petitions.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap confirmed that names of dead apparently were used on some petitions, but declined to say how many because of a continuing investigation.

The committee is re-examining the use of paid petition circulators in referendum initiative campaigns. The Legislature outlawed the practice more than a decade ago, but the courts reversed the ban in 1999.

The issue has surfaced anew in the Passamaquoddy Indian tribe’s effort to force a statewide referendum on a proposal to develop a harness racing track and casino with as many as 1,500 slot machines in Calais or Machias.

Petitions with more than 60,500 signatures were submitted in late January to state election officials, but nearly 13,000 of them were invalidated. The attorney general’s office is investigating alleged irregularities, such as forgery, on some of the petitions turned in.

Petition sponsors say they noticed what appeared to be illegal practices, reported them to the state, and fired the circulator.

Petition circulators are generally paid $2 to $2.50 per voter signature in Maine initiative campaigns, according to Flynn.

The Legislature is now looking at ways to tighten up the process. Dunlap said there seems to be more evidence now that financial incentives for circulators encourage forgery.

“I’m not comfortable going with a blanket ban on paying people” to work on initiative campaigns, said Dunlap. But rather than paying per signature, lawmakers might look at paying petition workers by the day or per campaign, he said.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com