Opinion ID: 1303863
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the right to vote by proxy

Text: A member [of a nonprofit corporation] ... may vote in person or, unless the articles of incorporation or the bylaws otherwise provide, may vote by proxy executed in writing by the member... . A proxy is not valid after eleven months from the date of its execution, unless otherwise provided in the proxy. AS 10.20.071(b). Section 71(b) was part of the 1968 amendments to the Nonprofit Corporation Act. Ch. 99, § 1, SLA 1968. Herning argues that, on its face, the statute applies to all nonprofit corporations, regardless of their date of incorporation. The Church contends that the legislature intended section 71(b) to apply only to nonprofit corporations organized after the effective date of the 1968 amendments; thus, it does not apply to the Church. The superior court refused to apply section 71(b) to the Church because the legislature did not clearly indicate its intent that section 71(b) apply retroactively. In Matanuska Maid v. State, 620 P.2d 182 (Alaska 1980), we ruled that a provision of the 1975 Alaska Restraint of Trade Act, which enlarged the investigative powers of the attorney general's office, authorized the attorney general to demand corporate documents created in 1967, even though the corporation could not be prosecuted for pre-1975 violations. Id. at 186-87 & n. 9. We emphasized that the statute merely changed investigatory procedures without providing access to material which would have been privileged under former law, stating that mere procedural changes which do not affect substantive rights are not immune from retrospective application. Id. at 187. If an amendment permitting proxy voting is a purely procedural change, it may be retroactively applied to the Church. [2] We believe that the 1968 amendment merely changes the procedure by which corporate members may exercise their substantive voting rights. The statute neither dilutes nor enlarges the substantive right to vote. Moreover, the plain language of section 71(b) suggests that the legislature intended it to apply to preexisting corporations. If the statute did not apply, the voting rights of members of nonprofit corporations would vary depending upon when the corporation was organized. This flies in the face of the comprehensive statutory scheme enacted in 1968 to govern nonprofit corporations. We therefore conclude that AS 10.20.071(b) applies to the Church and authorizes proxy voting absent a contrary provision in the corporate articles or bylaws. [3] The Church contends that its articles and bylaws prohibit proxy voting because they refer to voting by members present at any meeting. Paragraph X of the articles of incorporation provides for amendment of the articles when authorized by vote of two-thirds of the members, present at any regular business meeting. Under Bylaw 1, the membership present at a meeting may terminate a membership voluntarily or involuntarily. We do not believe that these provisions clearly prohibit proxy voting. A member may be present in person or by proxy, see 5 Fletcher, supra n. 3, § 2013, at 77 (1976 rev. perm. ed.) (proxies are counted to establish a quorum). We conclude that the articles and bylaws do not prohibit proxy voting.