Can We Change Voting Behavior?

We Own You!: How technology can help stockholders take control of the corporations they own, Slate.com, 1/12/10.  Eliot Spitzer writes,  “Twitter, text messages, YouTube, and other technology transformed politics in 2008. This success raises a compelling question: Can the same technology awaken the more dormant world of corporate democracy?… Could proxy voting in 2011 generate the same enthusiasm as actual voting did in 2008?” It just might if we can get a few people with Spitzer’s star power to focus attention.

Good to see Eliot Spitzer talking up use of ProxyDemocracy.org, MoxyVote.com and Shareowners.org. He gets his facts slightly wrong, Both ProxyDemocracy.org AND MoxyVote.com intend to be neutral information providers. MoxyVote.com labels its information sources as “advocates” but that doesn’t mean MoxyVote.com agrees with them.

Both work on the concept of trusted brands to help shareowners vote more easily and more intelligently. In the case of ProxyDemocracy.org, their “respected institutional investors” spend considerable resources investigating not only resolutions but also director nominees. By announcing their votes in advance, they allow retail shareowners to benefit from their research and they create brands with a larger following than they would have voting alone.

Spitzer says there are at least two critical hurdles that still have to be overcome:

1. “First, most shareholders don’t vote because they assume their votes don’t matter; shareholder votes are almost never close.” However, this year that is changing. With most of the Fortune 500 using majority vote requirements to elect directors and with “broker votes” no longer allowed when retail shareowners fail to vote within 10 days of the annual meeting, your vote counts more than ever. We are sure to see several directors turned out of office. That doesn’t stop them from replacing tweedle dee with tweedle dum, but its a good start.
2. “There is no water cooler for corporate democracy. A presidential or mayoral race prompts conversations among friends and colleagues and generates daily press coverage. A corporate proxy vote doesn’t. We don’t all own the same shares, and even if we did, we probably wouldn’t talk about it.” That’s where sites like Shareowners.org and my own blog come in. People should be talking about how they are voting. It would be great to have TV shows like the Nightly Business Report actually providing analysis of the issues facing owners, rather than tips for the next bet. If PBS doesn’t do it, Spitzer could do it through Slate.com.

Of the two problems, the second is more important. When shareowners start talking to each other about how they’re voting, more will vote… and, more will vote intelligently. We will also start taking on more of the issues that currently send the system off balance.

For example, this morning I received a copy of a letter from Goldman Sachs to the SEC referencing my resolution to allow shareowners to ask the board to amend the bylaws, allowing owners of 10% of the company’s stock to call a special meeting. Management at Goldman Sachs wants to omit the resolution from the proxy on the basis that they intend to submit a proposal to the 2010 annual meeting to allow shareowners of 25% to hold a special meeting.

They argue that Rule 14a-8(i)(9) allows them to exclude the proposal from its proxy, since the proposal directly conflicts with their proposal. In the past, the SEC has allowed such exclusion based on confusion that would reign if shareowners passed both resolutions. That is nonsense. If both pass, the lower threshold applies. If we can ever get the “water cooler” discussions going around corporate democracy, shareowners won’t stand for a system that tips the balance of power to management at every turn. We will see if the SEC under Mary Schapiro acts to protect shareowners by allowing the resolution, or if they protect management by issuing a “no action” letter.

“Street name registration” undermines our culture, turning investors into gamblers by providing them “security entitlements,” instead of real ownership rights. Just as poker chips allow us to play under rules which often favor the house, those holding “security entitlements” do not acquire the rights of share owners. For example, one right sharowners have is to receive a proxy, whereas those of us registered in street name receive a voter instruction form (VIF). SEC rules guarantee certain rights to proxy holders but not, it is argued, to those voting through VIFs. (see
Investors Against Genocide Fighting American Funds, Broadridge and Vague SEC Requirements: More Problems Solved Using Direct Registration.

On January 13th I will post a draft petition to the SEC that I have been working on with Glyn Holton, of the United States Proxy Exchange, and others to convert from “street name” to a system of direct registration. I hope you will consider signing on as a co-filer. Can we change voting behavior? Yes, we can! Just give us the rights of ownership and see how democracy transforms the world of corporations.