Political Spending Proposal Receives Majority Support for First Time

Political Spending And Lobbying by James R. Copland and Margaret M. O’Keefe, Proxy Monitor

Introduction

In 2016, a shareholder proposal concerning corporate political spending received majority shareholder support over board opposition—the first such result among 455 such proposals introduced over the last 11 years. There was no overall increase in shareholder support for political-spending-related proposals, however, notwithstanding increased political pressures.

Ever since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission[3]—which determined that independent political expenditures were speech protected by the First Amendment, even if funded by for-profit corporations—corporate political engagement has been much debated. The decision drew a rebuke from President Obama in his 2010 State of the Union address, with many of the Supreme...