MAPS Board of Directors Elections for 2023
Assalaamu Alaikum,
 
This email contains information on the eligibility requirements and overall process for the elections of the available positions on MAPS Board of Directors (BoD) and Board of Trustees (BoT).

In accordance with the MAPS By-Laws, the current BoD has invoked an independent Election Committee (EC) comprising of Ahmed Ayad, Khizer Sheriff, and Talat Hanafy. The EC is chartered to run the election process as an independent body and in-line with the MAPS By-Laws. As such, the EC members and their family members are not eligible to run for elections. The Election Committee can be reached by email at: electioncommittee@mapsredmond.org.
 
The election will be held in person at MAPS in shaa Allah during the designated dates/times. MAPS voting members who will be traveling, sick, or in quarantine because of COVID symptoms or exposure will have the option to vote using the absentee ballot.

The election this year is to fill 4 - four - Board of Directors positions. Since this is an even election year, this cycle also includes election of the President of the organization. There will be no Board of Trustee elections this year.

Here are the election key dates:

  • Friday October 21st Start of the election process and opening the nomination phase.
  • Sunday Nov 6th 5:00 PM End of  the nomination phase. 
  • Tuesday Nov 8th Election committee will publish the candidate list and their bios.
  • Thursday Nov 10th The Candidate Forum. Will send more details later about the exact time.
  • Friday Nov 11th Start of election voting.
  • Saturday Nov 12th 30 minutes after Isha Ends the voting. Count the votes and publish the election result.
  • In-person voting can happen on:
  • Friday Nov 11th during the time of the Friday prayers.
  • Friday Nov 11th between Maghrib prayers till 30 minutes after Isha prayers.
  • Saturday Nov 12th after Maghrib till 30 mins after Isha
  • Saturday Nov 12th – counting and announcement of results
  • Members who prefer to vote remotely can request an absentee ballot from the election committee. Voting by absentee ballot will be conducted from Wednesday Nov 9th to till the end of voting on Nov 12th 30 minutes after Ishaa.
 
BoD Candidate Eligibility

Active MAPS members meeting the following requirements will be eligible to be nominated. In addition, the nominees will be required to attest to serving the community in accordance with the MAPS Vision and By-laws. The EC will validate the candidate's eligibility once the nomination forms have been received.

Qualifications of the Board Member shall include:
 
  • Be a voting member of the Association for at least one year. In the event that an otherwise qualified person is needed to fill a vacancy but has been a member of the Association for less than a year, a motion can be brought to the general assembly to lower the requirement to 180 days for that specific person. The general assembly can approve the motion with more than 50% of votes. 
  • Sound Islamic beliefs and practices 
  • Abstains from Kaba'er (major Islamic violations)
  • Be a regular attendee to the Masjid and an active participant as a volunteer or a leader of activities of the Masjid and the Association
  • Be committed to supporting the Association
  • Must have good people management skills
  • Must have good communication skills necessary to conduct the affairs of the Association including verbal, written, and electronic, such as email.
 
BoT Candidate Eligibility
 
  • Must be a voting member of the organization for at least 2 years.
  • Have sound Islamic beliefs and practices
  • Abstain from Kaba’er (major Islamic violations)
  •  Be a regular attendee to the Masjid and an active participant as a volunteer or a leader of activities of the Association.
  •  Be regular attendee to the Masjid and regular participant in Masjid activities
  •   Be committed to supporting the Association
  •  They must meet one of the criteria below:
  •  Must be a current member of Board of Directors or must have previously served in the Board of Directors. Current members of the Board of Directors can only join the BoT by appointment and not by election unless the term of such a current member expires within 60 days of the General Assembly meeting in which BoT members are elected.
  • Must have served in at least one subcommittee under a Board member for a period of at least 1 year and have made significant contribution through such service. There must be documented proof of contribution and participation.
 
Voter Eligibility
 
Active MAPS members meeting the following requirements will be eligible to vote for the candidates on the ballot. 
 
Eligibility to Vote  
 
An association member becomes eligible to vote if he/she meets the following conditions:
 
1. Must be eighteen (18) years of age or older.
 
2. Completes a registration form and pays the membership dues set by the Board of Directors.
 
3. The term of membership is two years and must be renewed at the end of two years for membership to remain current. Membership is automatically terminated for failure to renew.
 
Voting Rights  

Only voting members shall have voting rights. Each voting member shall be entitled to only one vote. A member, whose dues are in arrears, loses the right to vote or run for election to Board of Directors or Board of Trustees as long as he/she is in such arrears. New members shall not have voting rights until 180 days have elapsed since their joining and payment of dues.
 
Election Process

The EC will publish the nomination forms to MAPS membership. The nominations will require two MAPS members to recommend an eligible candidate and candidate's acceptance of the nomination and attestation to uphold the MAPS Vision and By-laws.
 
Please find below the link to the nomination form.
 
The nomination form can be used to send your nomination to the election committee. Note that nomination has to be seconded by a second voting member to be accepted. Please fill out the form, email it to the Elections Committee at electioncommittee@mapsredmond.org, and cc the person seconding the nomination. We will confirm the validity of the nomination by reviewing the eligibility requirements. 
 
The elections will be held according to the timeline outlined above.
 
 
Please feel free to reach out to EC if you have any questions or comments.
 
Ahmed, Khizer, Talat