of the date of the annual meeting is first made. For stockholder proposals, the notice must include a description of the proposal, the reasons for the proposal and other specified matters. Our board of directors may reject any proposals or nominations that have not followed these procedures or that are not a proper subject for stockholder action in accordance with the provisions of applicable law. Although our bylaws do not otherwise give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business or the nomination of certain individuals at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
Directors, and Not Stockholders, Fix the Size of Our Board of Directors. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that the number of directors will be fixed from time to time exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by our board of directors, but in no event will it consist of less than five nor more than twelve directors.
Vacancies and Newly-Created Directorships on Our Board of Directors. Subject to the special rights of holders of any outstanding series of our preferred stock, any vacancy on our board of directors occurring for any reason, and any newly created directorships which occur by reason of an increase in the number of directors, will be filled only by the majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum or by a sole remaining director. These provisions could make it more difficult for our stockholders to affect the composition of the board of directors.
Classified Board of Directors; Removal of Directors. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors serving staggered three-year terms. The number of directors assigned to each class is as equal as reasonably possible. Each class will hold office until the third annual stockholders’ meeting for election of directors following the most recent election of such class and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. With only a portion of our board of directors up for election each year, the existence of a classified board of directors could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us because it would take more than one annual meeting to do so. In addition, our certificate of incorporation provides that our directors may only be removed for cause, which could also make it more difficult to change the composition of our board of directors.