Conservatives Are Mastering the Art of the Proxy Ballot to Fight ESG

For decades, getting a proposal on a company’s proxy ballot, the mainstay of shareholder democracy, had been used by corporate gadflies to try to pressure boards into taking controversial positions. More recently, fund management giants have pushed companies into adopting environmental and social changes through the proxy ballot—the document that publicly traded companies mail to shareholders to cast votes ahead of annual meetings. This year, 272 such measures made it onto company proxies, up from 158 in 2021.

Now conservative groups are getting into the game, led by two little-known strategists who have mastered the art of the proxy ballot. Coincidentally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is helping to pave their way with important rule changes. “As corporations are making more and more decisions that conservatives feel cater to the left, then [conservatives are] going to not just make more noise about this but be more organized,” says Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and former communications director of the Republican National Committee.