Thank you. Before commencing, if members of the press would like to ask questions or follow up on anything presented in this resolution, an e-mail address is: [email protected]. Ladies & gentleman, I am Sriram Madhusoodanan, and I stand on behalf of Investor Voice of Seattle to move Proposal #6 which requests a simple majority vote on shareholder-sponsored items.
A simple majority voting standard only counts votes cast FOR or AGAINST an item. In so doing, it provides the most democratic, clear, and accurate picture of the intent of those stockholders who are both informed and decided. This standard only counts votes that are affirmatively cast FOR or AGAINST an item – and excludes the ABSTAIN votes of those who have formally declined to express an opinion. A simple-majority standard does not arbitrarily ascribe negative intent to those who purposefully ABSTAIN, nor does it allow McDonald’s to pick winners and losers by calculating shareholder items differently from how it tallies its own director election.
In summary:
- Counting abstentions artificially depress the appearance of support for shareholder concerns, relative to the director election.
- Counting abstentions is unnecessary, since shareholder items are typically non-binding.
- Counting abstentions is confusing & inconsistent, because it treats management’s director vote more favorably than all shareholder items.
In closing:
The simple-majority standard proposed by Item 6 provides shareholders with better information about vote outcomes, allows more accurate communication between stockholders and the Board; and eliminates the second-class treatment of shareholder items relative to management’s director election.
Therefore: Ask McDonald’s to adopt simple majority voting for shareholder proposals – please vote FOR item #6.
That e-mail again for anyone wishing to follow up is: [email protected]. Thank you.
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