Exxon Mobil Sued by Pension Over New Automatic Voting System (1)

Exxon Mobil Corp.‘s automatic voting program used for annual meetings violates state and federal laws by automatically aligning investor votes with the board without an option to vote against it altogether, a Florida-based pension fund said in a lawsuit filed Monday.

The energy giant’s new voting system, billed as a way to increase engagement from smaller investors, lets shareholders automatically support board recommendations for proposals. These resolutions allow both the board and shareholders to gauge investor sentiment on director elections, environment and diversity measures, and more.

Participants can opt out of the program or override the default vote. ...