Even before the DC I'd always thought that the voting rights of owners are in many ways an illusion because if MVC is challenged by ownership to the point where owners wrest control of what MVC considers important, they have the unilateral right to sever the management agreement taking their names off the doors and taking away our affiliation with Marriott Rewards and the Destination Club. I know, that's extreme, but it has happened at several resorts.
There are, though, still a few very good reasons to vote every time on every issue. One is that it gives MVW a good idea of how many owners are paying attention and what the majority are thinking, meaning it may sway them in advance to mitigate whatever damage they intend to inflict on us. Another, especially at the older resorts which still have a supermajority of Weeks Owners/voters despite the DC, is that some items require one or both of two things, a quorum from owners other than MVW and/or a majority vote which MVW's limited votes may or may not be enough to sway. (An example result of the former coming into play is that if a quorum isn't reached, MVW is required by law to re-schedule the Annual Meeting with all associated costs assumed by the owners. An example of the latter is a fully-funded reserve issue up for a vote at one of the older FL or SC resorts, which MVW recommends owners vote for a waiver but which will go the other way if enough owners don't vote.)
I know all this sounds like I think ownership control is hopeless and we should just give up and give in to whatever MVW wants. That really isn't the case - I'd vote against anything that I think isn't good for the overall ownership, and I'd make sure to write to the Board/MVW Executives with an explanation of exactly why. But honestly, over the years I have been quite happy with the way MVW and the resort Boards have taken care to protect my ownership, and if things continue that way I expect to be happy with them for a long time.
{ETA} Writing this I'm not including the impact of how MVW is currently managing inventory following the hurricanes this year. That issue is probably the most concerning in all the years I've owned, but until we (hopefully) understand and have official confirmation of exactly what MVW did and how/why, I can't yet say that they are The Devil Incarnate.
If you start a thread it will be helpful for later search purposes if the thread is titled "2018 [Resort Name] Annual Meeting/Vote" or something similar.
