Aug. 13, 2023
Thank you for the opportunity to comment. I am strongly opposing this proposal. As an individual investor it is baffling to learn about the voting process. Almost all companies are affected by failures-to-deliver, stock lending and stock borrowing -- which is resulting in more shares being circulated than should exist. This undermines the market entirely. Every year, in most companies, excess votes are discarded due to over-voting. Refer to the book Naked, Short & Greedy by Dr. Trimbath for details. Individual investors are affected by the failure-to-receive and are not made aware that their vote might simply be discarded. This is against democracy and against the free market, it is entirely un-American. It is unacceptable to consider increasing over-voting further with this proposal. Therefore, I am strongly against this proposal. The SEC should ensure that trades settle immediately and shares are available before being traded. This would eliminate failures-to-receive and thus the over-voting. The current situation of more shares being circulated than exist, is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for considering my comment as a voice of the People and I urge you not to listen to corporations. Sincerely, Florian Rhyn