Ballot boxed

11 June 2014 By Reynolds Holding

Voting to abstain is ignored, counted as a nay or both in Delaware. It always means no at the NYSE. Not voting at all is a nod to the opposition in Ohio. Such quirks are bad corporate governance. A thumbs up or down would better serve investors in the likes of Coke and Cheniere.

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Cheniere Energy on June 2 announced the delay of its annual stockholder meeting from June 12 to Sept. 11 because of a lawsuit claiming the company had awarded shares that weren’t approved in a vote that counted abstentions, as required by Delaware law.

On April 23, Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, said he had voted to abstain on whether to approve Coca-Cola’s equity compensation plan, but that he disagreed with it. Under the company’s voting standards, abstentions have no effect and don’t count as votes against a proposal.

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