Editing Openai/68df4a3a-428c-8013-a459-5cff8e17edde (section)

==== 1. Practicality: Most shareholders, especially retail (small) investors, do not attend meetings in person. Proxy voting ensures their voices are still counted. ====
# Quorum Requirement: For a meeting to be valid, a minimum percentage of shares (a quorum) must be represented. Proxies help reach this threshold.
# Management Influence: Companies often encourage shareholders to sign over their proxy votes to management. This helps management secure the approval needed for board elections, compensation plans, and other proposals.
# Efficiency: With proxies, votes can be collected in advance, tabulated, and announced quickly at the meeting.

✅ Summary:
* Direct voting = the shareholder votes personally.
* Proxy voting = someone else votes on the shareholder’s behalf, using the authority granted.
* Companies rely on proxies because they make it easier to achieve quorum, ensure participation from dispersed shareholders, and often consolidate management’s influence over governance outcomes.

Would you like me to also explain what a proxy fight (proxy contest) is — since it’s the most dramatic and interesting consequence of proxy voting?