RALEIGH - The State Board of Elections has assigned three staff members to examine campaign contributions from special interests to state lawmakers, after an analysis by The Charlotte Observer.

The staff members will try to piece together the whereabouts of more than $60,000 that special interests reported giving to lawmakers from Mecklenburg County but the lawmakers did not report getting. Citing bookkeeping errors, many lawmakers have already amended their disclosure reports.

"It will not be slipped under the rug," Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said of his office's review. "It will be done and done right."

The N.C. Democratic Party has also stepped in to audit the campaign of at least one lawmaker, Rep. Pete Cunningham, at his request. The party said the request was not unusual.

In an analysis published this month, the Observer identified 120 discrepancies over six years involving 20 lawmakers. In each case, a political action committee had reported giving money to a lawmaker, but the lawmaker never reported receiving it -- leaving the money unaccounted for.

Two Mecklenburg lawmakers -- Reps. Beverly Earle, a Charlotte Democrat, and Drew Saunders, a Huntersville Democrat -- had more than $10,000 each unaccounted for.

Earle, who is running for mayor of Charlotte, has amended her reports to account for $2,600. Saunders has amended no reports. Neither returned calls from the Observer last week.

Some lawmakers have filed amendments clearing up all the money that had been unaccounted for, or have given precise explanations for how the contributions went unreported. Those lawmakers include Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a Charlotte Democrat; Sen. Robert Pittenger, a Charlotte Republican; Sen. Bill Purcell, a Laurinburg Democrat; Rep. Martha Alexander, a Charlotte Democrat, and Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat.

"Some of these are getting cleared up," said Bob Hall, research director for the nonpartisan Democracy North Carolina.

Bartlett said all lawmakers have cooperated so far with his office, which regulates campaign finance disclosures.

"We are going to intensely audit the reports as they are," Bartlett said, "and we are going to also do the more formal audit for all those representatives and those senators who have requested that assistance. That will go a step further -- with bank records.

"If we cannot find documentation," he added, "we'll go to the next step."

The State Board of Elections has the power to fine candidates and political action committees for improper reporting. In the most extreme cases, the board can refer people for criminal prosecution.

Bartlett said he hopes his staff can complete its work by the end of September. The historically underfunded office is also juggling three other investigations -- those into Democratic former House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, Democratic Rep. Thomas Wright of Wilmington and a Democrat-backed judicial advocacy group.

Cunningham, a Charlotte Democrat, said he doesn't know for sure whether his books are balanced. The Observer identified discrepancies with six contributions to Cunningham's campaign totaling $2,050, though the total represents only a fraction -- 5 percent -- of the money examined by the newspaper.

He said he considered hiring a private accountant to audit his campaign but instead asked the N.C. Democratic Party for help. The group agreed, and he said he has delivered several boxes of campaign and bank records.

''They asked for receipts, showing what my expenditures are," Cunningham said. "They asked to see if the checks were verified. I'm waiting to hear back from them."

The Democrats' House caucus, affiliated with the state party, began paying closer attention to campaign finance reporting about a year ago, House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman said. The move came at the height of the corruption investigation into Black, who led the caucus for 12 years.

"What we're trying to do is just give members a little more help," said Holliman, a Lexington Democrat. "I think most people are really, really trying to get everything correct."