Universal proxy cards, mandated this month for use for the first time in U.S. corporate board elections, are promising to spice up elections for contested director seats.
Gone are the blue and gold cards shareholders used for decades to vote for a single slate of board directors. As the Securities and Exchange Commission implements 2021 amendments to open up investor choice, public companies will have to use the new style of proxy card that allows investors to mix and match their votes instead of picking an entire slate backed either by company management or an activist.
With the change, the SEC’s Democratic majority is aiming to embolden stakeholder capitalism, according to Michael R. Levin, an activist investor who is also board chair for Comarco Inc. and a director for AG&E Holdings Inc.
