The board of Portland, Ore.-based Umpqua Holdings Corp. urged shareholders to vote for an amendment to the articles of incorporation adopting a majority voting standard in uncontested director elections.

Under the proposal, the number of votes cast for a director nominee should exceed votes cast against that nominee in an uncontested election.

A plurality voting standard, in which director nominees who received the highest "for" votes are elected to fill the open positions on the board, will remain in place for contested elections.