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The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board of directors is moving forward with election reform, but it first wants input from six American Indian pueblos within the district.

Sandia Pueblo hosted a meeting for the board and the pueblos on Aug. 7. While no decisions were made, board member Janet Jarratt said the meeting was an important step in opening a dialogue between the two groups.

"Communication is always good," she said.

The board has suggested election reforms that include a switch to paper ballots, moving oversight of elections from the board to the Secretary of State's Office, implementing a voter registration system and requiring voters to present identification, Jarratt said.

Property owners within the district elect seven members to the board — three of whom serve two-year terms and four of whom serve four-year terms. The last election was held in June.

Past elections have been clouded by allegations of voter fraud, electioneering and ballot tampering, Jarratt said.

"It would be my goal to have the election reform to the point where those questions don't arise anymore," she said.

Amber Flores Jordan, a spokeswoman for Sandia Pueblo, said the pueblos — Sandia, San Felipe, Isleta, Santa Ana, Cochiti and Santo Domingo — wanted to be involved in the deliberations to ensure the process is fair.

Jarratt said the board may take up some of the issues discussed Aug. 7 night meeting at its regular board meeting next week. She said future meetings with pueblo leaders are also possible.

The district, established in 1925 to reclaim farmland and control periodic flooding, serves about 11,000 farmers and gardeners along 1,200 miles of canals, smaller ditches and drains in the Rio Grande Valley from Cochiti Reservoir south of Santa Fe to the Bosque del Apache south of Socorro.