All shareholders have the right to exercise their vote in the...

All shareholders have the right to exercise their vote in the USA.
What is "broker voting"?
Under most stock exchange rules, if you are a beneficial owner, your broker may vote on your behalf at shareholder meetings under certain circumstances. This is sometimes referred to as "broker voting." Generally, if you do not return your voting instruction form directing your broker how to vote on your behalf at least 10 days before the shareholder meeting, your broker may exercise discretion to vote on your behalf on certain routine matters.While brokers generally no longer have the discretion to vote their customers' shares in an election of directors of companies without receiving instructions from those customers, brokers do continue to retain this discretion for mutual funds and certain closed-end funds.