Method and system for electronic solicitation of votes affecting corporate affairs
A method, system, and program product for the electronic delivery and distribution of a solicitation for votes on shareholder issues from an issuer to a plurality of voters. The method includes creating an electronic solicitation message for the issuer; tagging the electronic solicitation message with at least one parameter to ensure the electronic solicitation message is available to the voters holding a shareholder position with the issuer; presenting the electronic solicitation message to the voters; recording and compiling a plurality of information regarding each viewing of the transmitted solicitation message; aggregating a plurality of electronic voting results from the voters; and reporting the aggregated electronic voting results to the issuer.
1. A method for the electronic delivery and distribution of a solicitation for votes on shareholder issues from an issuer or authorized party to a plurality of voters comprising the steps of:
creating an electronic solicitation message wherein the electronic solicitation message includes an electronic proxy ballot and a solicitation content;
tagging the electronic solicitation message with at least one parameter to ensure the electronic solicitation message is available to the voters holding a shareholder position with the issuer;
presenting the electronic solicitation message to the voters;
enabling the voters to view the solicitation content anonymously:
recording and compiling a plurality of information regarding each confidential viewing of the transmitted electronic solicitation message by the voters;
aggregating a plurality of confidential electronic voting results received from the voters; and
reporting the aggregated electronic voting results to the issuer or authorized party.
2. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 further comprising the steps of obtaining a plurality of corporate and securities information.
3. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 wherein the solicitation content is embedded in the electronic proxy ballot.
4. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 wherein the electronic solicitation message includes a link to a solicitation content.
5. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 wherein the solicitation content comprises at least one of a video communication, an audio communication, and a text communication from the issuer or authorized party.
6. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 further comprising the step of transmitting the voting results to a vote tabulator.
7. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 further comprising the step of transmitting the voting results to a plan sponsor.
8. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 further comprising the step of transmitting the voting results to a government agency.
9. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 wherein the step of presenting the electronic solicitation message comprises transmitting a notification of the solicitation message to the voters and validating that each voter receiving the notification is authorized to view the solicitation message.
10. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving analysis information and voting policy recommendations relating to a proposal on an electronic proxy ballot and providing the received information and policy recommendations to the voters electronically.
11. The method for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 1 wherein the authorized party includes a dissident shareholder or any party authorized by a government agency.
12. A system for the electronic delivery and distribution of a solicitation for votes on shareholder issues from an issuer or authorized party to a plurality of voters comprising:
a proxy voting platform for creating an electronic solicitation message wherein the electronic solicitation message includes an electronic proxy ballot and a solicitation content, for tagging the electronic solicitation message with at least one parameter to validate that a voter is authorized to receive the electronic message, for presenting the electronic solicitation message to the authorized voters and recording and reporting a plurality of confidential electronic voting results and viewing information for each confidential access to the electronic solicitation message by the voters;
a user interface to the proxy voting platform that enables each authorized voter to access the electronic solicitation content anonymously; and
a database for storing a plurality of electronic solicitation messages, electronic voting results and viewing information.
13. The system for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 12 wherein the database stores a plurality of ballot data, share position information, ballot proposal analysis information, voting policy recommendations, and issuer and securities information.
14. The system for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 12 wherein the proxy voting platform further comprises a plurality of modules for tagging and presenting the electronic solicitation message to the voters.
15. The system for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 12 wherein the proxy voting platform further comprises a detailed statistics module for gathering the electronic voting results from each authorized voter.
16. The system for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 12 wherein the proxy voting platform further comprises an aggregate statistics reporting module that accumulates electronic voting results from the plurality of voters and provides the aggregated electronic voting results to the issuer or authorized party.
17. The system for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 12 wherein the solicitation content comprises at least one of a video communication, an audio communication, and a text communication from the issuer.
18. The system for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 12 wherein the authorized party includes a dissident shareholder or any party authorized by a government agency.
19. A computer program product for enabling an electronic delivery and distribution of a solicitation for votes on shareholder issues from an issuer or authorized party to a plurality of voters, comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embedded therein, the computer readable medium comprising:
program instructions that enable creation of an electronic solicitation message wherein the electronic solicitation message includes an electronic proxy ballot and a solicitation content;
program instructions that tag the electronic solicitation message with at least one parameter to ensure that the electronic solicitation message is available to the voters holding a shareholder position with the issuer;
program instructions that present electronic solicitation messages to the voters;
program instructions that enable the voters to view the solicitation content anonymously;
program instructions that record and compile a plurality of information regarding each confidential viewing of the transmitted electronic solicitation message by the voters;
program instructions that aggregate a plurality of confidential electronic voting results received from the voters; and
program instructions that report the aggregated electronic voting results to the issuer or authorized party.
20. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the program instructions that present the electronic solicitation message comprise program instructions that transmit a notification of the solicitation message to the voters, and program instructions that validate that each voter receiving the notification is authorized to view the solicitation message.
21. The computer program product for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 19 wherein the authorized party includes a dissident shareholder or any party authorized by a government agency.
22. The computer program product for the electronic delivery and distribution of claim 19 wherein the computer readable medium is hosted on a proxy platform.