WASHINGTON – Maine Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky met with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft Thursday on behalf of the National Association of Secretaries of State to discuss ways to head off a possible repeat of what happened in Florida two years ago. He also went to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to move forward with legislation that would help pay for election reform.

Gwadosky, who serves as president of NASS, said the Ashcroft meeting was intended to facilitate conversation and begin a relationship between the Justice Department and NASS. Together, he said, the department and the association may be able, in advance of the next month’s elections, to address issues such as voters’ rights and the potential for election fraud.

“We think if there are issues with voter fraud, then it ought to be handled expeditiously and as quickly as possible so that there’s a strong deterrent for others who might be contemplating such a thing,” Gwadosky said.

Ashcroft was not available for comment after the private meeting.

Gwadosky said he told the attorney general that another Florida situation could be likely, “just because a lot of states have been waiting for Congress to act on the national election.”

Gwadosky spent the morning on the Hill working with members of Congress who are on a conference committee that is trying to reconcile differences between the Senate and the House over election reform legislation. He offered to provide assistance and urged them to act on the bill.

He said Maine has advantages that help contribute to some of the highest voter turnouts in the nation, such as more flexibility in allowing voters to use absentee ballots, provisional ballots for those whose right to vote are challenged, and Election Day registration.

The secretary’s office in Maine also has central election authority which likely would prevent problems of the magnitude that occurred in Florida during the recounts two years ago.

“In the case of a recount, it’s not like Florida where each county does their own thing,” Gwadosky said. He explained that in Maine ballots are collected from the communities involved are brought to Augusta where his office is responsible for the recount.

Despite Maine’s election strengths, Maine is still one of 12 states waiting for federal funds to improve their electoral machinery. The congressional conference committee has before it a bill that would give Maine up to $11 million to implement a central voter registration system and purchase optical scanning voting machines, the secretary said.

He noted that 28 states will still be using the kinds of punch card voting machines next month that were used in Florida two years ago. Most states have upgraded their machines or adopted legislation to install advanced systems, but nearly every state is in need of federal financial help.

“We have 42 states that are in deficits right now,” he said, “and they’re counting on a one-time opportunity from the federal government to make this investment.”