Voting Agreements . . .

are sometimes referred to or contained in shareholders’ agreements. These are contracts, usually in writing, that are signed by two or more shareholders and govern the manner in which those shareholders will vote their shares of company stock. In most situations, if shareholders holding a majority of the shares of voting stock agree to vote their shares together, they can control a company by controlling who is elected to the company's board of directors. Voting agreements are commonly used by minority shareholders to assure themselves a seat on a company’s board of directors or to restrict the issuance of additional shares of a company’s stock. See: Board of Directors, Control, Shareholders’ Agreements.