About one-quarter of all Verizon Communications shareholder votes were cast in favor of a proposal that asks the company to report on business risks from Verizon’s controversial FCC lawsuit and other actions to oppose open Internet and network neutrality principles. The preliminary vote of 24.1% in favor of the net neutrality proposal was reported at Verizon’s May 2 annual meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This represents a three-fold increase in support from a similar action filed last year, which garnered 7.9% of shareholder votes in favor of a net neutrality proposal. In an open letter to Verizon shareholders, the proposal sponsors said failure to uphold network neutrality could present “serious legal, regulatory, reputational and financial risks” to Verizon while potentially reducing consumer choice, stifling economic growth and creating enormous barriers to tech innovation.

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