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GENERAL INFORMATION AND RULES FOR 2008 ELECTIONS
Following rules are paraphrased excerpts from the ISGH Constitution & Bylaws and are hereby provided only as guidelines to facilitate the election process. In all cases of errors and/or conflicts, the actual ISGH Constitution & Bylaws shall prevail.
I. RULES APPLICABLE TO THE ELIGIBLE MEMBERS:
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| 1. |
Only eligible voting members shall be allowed to cast a vote.
2. An eligible voting member is a person whose name appears on the APPROVED 2008 ISGH membership list.
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| 2. |
An eligible voting member is a person whose name appears on the APPROVED 2008 ISGH membership list.
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II. RULES APPLICABLE TO THE NOMINEES:
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An eligible voting member shall nominate another eligible voting member for one of the contested positions, on the form provided by the Election Commission, after consulting with the nominee.
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A nominee for the position of the President shall be a member of the ISGH in good standing for two consecutive years and shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Only a member who is able to lead the prayers shall be eligible for the office of the President.
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A nominee for any one of the following positions shall be a member of ISGH in good standing for one year and shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States:
I. General Secretary. II. Zonal Directors.
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Additionally a Zonal Director shall be a resident of that Zone. Nominee for Associate Director position shall be a resident of one of the Zip Codes associated with the respective Islamic Center. A nominee for the position of Area Representative shall be a resident of one of the Zip Codes in Zip Code groupings for which he/she is being nominated.
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An individual who has served two consecutive terms on the Shura is NOT qualified for election to a third consecutive term for the same position.
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A nominee for the Majlis Al-Shura (Board of Directors) should also fulfill the requirements of the ISGH Bylaws as reproduced below:
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“A. Qualification of Nominees for a position on the Board of Directors:
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| (I) |
Besides being an eligible voting member for at least one year (2 years for nominees for the position of President & Vice President), all nominees for a position in the Board of Directors must meet the following four conditions:
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* Have been involved in ISGH as Board of Director, Associate Director, or Area
Representative, or in any of the ISGH standing or special committees, or
as faculty member in any of the ISGH or affiliated educational entities.
* Over the last one year, have attended at least one regularly scheduled Qur’anic
or Islamic Adult Education session per month at any of the ISGH centers
or Masajid.
* Have not been removed from an elected office of ISGH (as per Bylaws Article VII Section 8) or expelled from ISGH membership for ethical reasons (as per Bylaws Article VII Section 9).
* Have signed a statement that he is the:
(a) One who does not himself seek an elected position.
(b) One who does not put his decisions or other people’s decisions
over and above the decisions of Allah (SWT), Qur’an, and Sunnah.
(c) One who is obedient to Shariah.
(d) One who does not commit major sins.
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A member of the Election Commission can not be a nominee for any position contested in the upcoming elections.
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An employee of ISGH can not be a nominee for any position contested in the upcoming elections.
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A nominee may withdraw his/her acceptance by submitting a written request on or before (12:00 Noon, November 9, 2008). Such a withdrawal will be final. The Election Commission MUST have this Withdrawal in writing by the above deadline at the Main Center.
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All nominees for a position of the Board of Directors (Majlis Al-Shura), who accept a nomination, shall submit a short resume (maximum 10 typed lines) of their qualifications and related experience, on or before November 16, 2008, to the Election Commission.
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All nominees for the position of the Board of Directors (Majlis Al-Shura) shall make themselves available on November 30, 2008 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM for the introduction session arranged by the Election Commission, at the ISGH Main Center; also at other times if Election Commission organizes an introduction session at any of the Zonal Centers where nominees for Area Representatives may also be introduced. Absentee/Early balloting will be on November 30 from 1:30 PM - 4 PM
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III. GENERAL INFORMATION:
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ISGH discourages all defaming and negative campaigning.
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All nomination letters shall be addressed to the Election Commission and received on or before 12:00 Noon, Sunday, October 26, 2008, at the ISGH Main Center at 3110 Eastside Street, Houston, Texas 77098 |
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Absentee/Early balloting shall be held on November 30, 2008 at the Main Center from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM. Absentee/Early ballots are allowed for the members who may not be able to vote on the General Election day (December 7, 2008). Balloting can be done only in person; no proxy shall be accepted
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The election shall be held on Sunday, December 7, 2008, at the Main Center between the hours of 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (with breaks for Zuhr & Asr prayers). Please note that ISGH Bylaws require that if the Election Day falls during the three days of Eid ul Adha, the balloting be re-scheduled a prescribed time after the third day of Eid. Calculations assuming next two Islamic months of 29 days each indicate exactly such a situation happening this year. Since we do not follow the scientific computational approach for creating Islamic calendar, unfortunately it is not possible to make a decision at this time. EC will continue to monitor the situation and keep membership posted thru ISGH website and other means.
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Eligible members MUST cast vote in person. Proxy voting shall NOT be allowed.
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All members eligible to vote MUST present a photo identification: driver’s license, passport, student ID with photo. The identification presented must verify the identity of the voting member to the satisfaction of EC.
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Children of eligible members whose names already appear on the voting list MUST present an identification showing their date of birth, (minimum age: 15 years. Identification must show DOB of December 7, 1993 OR earlier).
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Dependent, resident (not just visiting) parents of an eligible member whose names already appear on the voting list may vote and must present proper identification as specified above.
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Please check eligible voters list posted on bulletin boards to make sure that your name, and the names of any eligible dependents (children or parents), do appear on the voting list. Please also make sure that other information about you and your family, such as Zone, Islamic Center, Zip Code are also correct. Only those persons whose names are on the list will be allowed to vote.
However, the EC wants to make sure that no ISGH member is denied the right to participate in this election just because of an error in the preparation of the voting list. A specific process will be followed by EC in dealing with such situations. If your name or name of a family member or anyone else you know should be on the list but is missing, please immediately contact the ISGH office and your Zonal or Associate Director. Also you should contact them if any information on the list is incorrect. You may contact EC if you feel that proper attention is not being paid to your concerns in this regard.
Dealing with missing names is extremely difficult on the actual election day(s) and is strongly, very strongly discouraged. Under most circumstances it will NOT BE ALLOWED or WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE to do so at the time of balloting. If you feel that the name of one of your family member or someone you know should be on the list but is missing, please take steps to rectify the situation as soon as possible.
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