Election & Membership

Election Committee

The Board of Directors shall select the Election Committee to solicit nominations, to recommend to the general membership a slate of candidates for all elected offices of the ABS, and to conduct the election. Upon receiving the lists and applications of membership for all communities, the Election Committee shall verify the lists to ascertain, by any means it deems best, the eligibility of all persons named in the list and shall certify or deny the eligibility of any person for purposes of voting. The Election Committee shall consist of three (3) members, one of whom shall be the ABS Treasurer. No Election Committee member can nominate himself/herself for board member.

For purposes of verifying and certifying the eligibility of members to be nominated, the Election Committee shall take into consideration all relevant information to determine whether a candidate possesses the qualifications set out in 6.2.3. All nominees must be in Good Standing and have paid their dues at least thirty (30) prior to the General Assembly Meeting. The Election Committee shall send copies of the certified lists of the members to the Election Committee and the Secretary no later than thirty (30) days before the General Assembly Meeting or in special circumstances to provide the committee at least twenty four (24) hours to provide adequate credential reviews. No nominee can have a felony.

For purposes of Election Committee is to verify and certify the eligibility of members to vote. The Election Committee shall send copies of the certified lists of the members to the Secretary no later than ninety (90) days before the General Assembly Meeting. However, if the Election Committee encounters a major problem involving certification of members, then the committee shall refer the problem to the Board of Directors for final decision. All issues involving the certification of members shall be decided upon by the Board of Directors.

Membership Committee

The Board shall select three (3) members to serve on the Membership Committee.

The Membership sub-committee shall prepare and make available to members of the Al-Bireh community applications for the purpose of joining the ABS. Such applications shall, inter alia, contain questions relative to the age, address and telephone number of the applicant, whether s/he was an ABS member in previous years, whether s/he is a member in good standing in the Chapter Club in his or her community, if one exists, and place for signature. However, a letter with sufficient information to identify the applicant and members of his/her household with his/her signature shall be accepted as a membership application. All current members shall receive annual renewal of membership notices.

In the event that a household comprises of more than one person qualified for membership and they are desirous of becoming members, only one member of said household need sign on behalf of the other members of the household and pay their dues, provided that s/he lists their names and ages.

The only dues to be accepted as valid for purposes of voting are those that are paid by check, credit or debit cards from the applicant’s personal funds, whether the applicant is an individual or a head of a household on behalf of himself or herself and those members of his or her own household, as the case may be.

All membership applications shall be returned so as to reach the Membership Committee at the ABS’s office postmarked no later than thirty (30) days before the General Assembly Meeting. The membership of any person who fails to return his or her membership application by this postmarked date will not be certified for voting purposes, including the election of the President and Board of Directors.

The Membership Committee shall soon thereafter prepare a membership list in alphabetical order, and furnish copies of each list to the Election Committee, the Election Committee and the Board of Directors no later than thirty (30) days before the General Assembly Meeting. Furthermore, thirty (30) days before the General Assembly Meeting, the custodian of the received membership applications shall turnover said applications to the Election Committee for the purpose of verification after which the applications shall be returned to the Membership Committee.

The Secretary shall keep the membership applications received by him/her in a safe place and, upon approval by the Board of Directors, shall make the list of membership available to other members of the ABS.

Household is defined as husband and/or wife and unmarried children over the age of 18 living in the same location.