AUGUSTA – State officials did not make copies of checks received by candidates, making it difficult to prove they complied with the Maine Clean Election Act, the Maine Democratic Party contends.

The Democratic Party specifically targeted Green independent gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Carter in a letter to state officials on Friday.

But Kurt Adams, attorney for the Maine Democratic Party, said the Democrats are concerned that all candidates comply fully with the law before getting public funding for their statewide campaigns.

Democrats contend the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices failed to make copies of an estimated 400 checks that were deposited into the Maine Clean Election Fund.

That means there are no records to prove whether Carter complied with the Maine Clean Election Act, Adams said.

“We are trying to make sure that everyone who takes taxpayer money complies with the law, and we are frustrated by the actions of the commission staff to stymie our attempts to get what are clearly public records that will tell us whether or not someone violated the law,” Adams said.

The election official at the center of this political storm defended his actions.

“I deny that any public records are being destroyed and I’m prepared to argue the case in court,” said William Hain III, a lawyer and executive director of the ethics commission.

The dispute centers on $5 “qualifying contributions” that clean election hopefuls must collect to receive public campaign financing.

Carter has already turned in 1,000 checks to the ethics commission to begin the verification process. Carter needs to collect another 1,500 checks, and he said Tuesday that he is closing in on the target.

The Democrats want to look at all of the checks Carter has turned in to see whether some should be disqualified. Hain’s staff, however, has deposited some of the checks “as a matter of routine.”

Although party leaders say that they are interested in viewing other candidates’ checks, thus far they’ve focused only on Carter.

The Democrats blame Carter for costing former Democratic Gov. Joseph Brennan the 1994 election, when Angus King won his first term in a four-way contest. Carter had only $25,000 to spend but captured 7 percent of the vote.

With $1 million to spend, political analysts believe Carter could make a much bigger impact on the 2002 race. For his part, Carter accused the Democrats of “sleazy politics” and an attempt to drive him out of the race.

Hain admitted that his staff processed and deposited about 400 of Carter’s checks before Democrats came into his office two weeks ago and asked to review them. He said his office doesn’t stockpile checks.

Another potential issue raised by Democrats is a ruling by Hain that couples can write a single check for $10, instead of individual checks for $5, to a candidate. Hain concluded, “That was infinitely intelligent.”

George Christie, who helped write and push the Clean Election Act to passage in a statewide referendum in 1996, agreed with Hain.

But Adams said the Democratic Party would ask for an advisory ruling from the new ethics commission, which is supposed to be confirmed by the Senate next week, on whether checks can be written for an amount other than $5.

Only then would the party discuss the possibility of taking further action against Hain and his staff.