Here's how the SEC has made it worse: It decided last year that instead of sending out fat paper proxy packages, companies could mail out postcards alerting shareholders that they could either vote on the Internet or ask for an old-fashioned paper proxy.
Less than 5% of shareholders who receive only a form directing them to vote online actually vote, while 20% of shareholders who receive the materials by mail vote, says Chuck Callan of Broadridge Financial Solutions, which handles proxy processing for brokerage firms.