ONLINE VOTING, P.2

Some of the shareholders, while a little taken aback by the speed of the proceedings, seemed pleased by the pace. At past annual meetings, "We sat here forever" waiting for a quorum, says Martin McCarthy, who had voted online but attended the meeting anyway. How is the new voting system? "One, two, three — easy," McCarthy reports. Shareholder Dorothy Nish agrees. A neighbor helped her log on and vote. "I said, sure, why not? So much simpler than all the paper balloting."

But another shareholder, Evelyn Marens, worries about the lack of a human touch. While voting on the computer seemed "part of life today, it takes away the personality from people," she observes.

True, but first, you've got to get the people there — any which way you can.

Illustration by Jane Sanders

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