Voting on Proposals
How to cast votes on governance proposals
Voting on Proposals
Voting is the core mechanism for collective decision-making in the DAO. This guide covers everything you need to participate in governance votes.
Prerequisites
Before you can vote:
- Connected wallet with governance tokens
- Voting power from locked tokens (veTokens) or delegation
- Active proposal in voting period
Voting power is calculated at the snapshot block when a proposal is created. Tokens acquired after the snapshot cannot be used on that proposal.
Voting Options
Every proposal offers three voting choices:
| Option | Meaning | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| For | Support the proposal | Counts toward approval threshold |
| Against | Oppose the proposal | Counts against approval |
| Abstain | Neither support nor oppose | Counts toward quorum only |
When to Abstain
Abstain is useful when you:
- Want to help reach quorum but lack expertise to judge
- Have a conflict of interest
- Believe the community should decide without your influence
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Vote Distribution │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ For ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 52% │
│ Against ██████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 35% │
│ Abstain █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 13% │
│ │
│ Total Participation: 2.3M tokens (46% of quorum) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Vote Weight Calculation
Your voting power depends on your token lock configuration:
Base Formula
Voting Power = Locked Amount × Time MultiplierTime Multipliers
| Lock Duration | Multiplier | Example (1000 tokens) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week | 0.02x | 20 votes |
| 1 month | 0.08x | 80 votes |
| 6 months | 0.5x | 500 votes |
| 1 year | 1.0x | 1,000 votes |
| 4 years | 4.0x | 4,000 votes |
Voting power decays linearly as your lock approaches expiration. Re-lock or extend to maintain maximum power.
Power Decay Over Time
Voting Power
^
4x │████
│████████
│████████████
│████████████████
1x │████████████████████
│░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░████
│░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░████
└──────────────────────────────> Time
Lock ExpiryDelegated Power
If others have delegated to you, their power adds to yours:
Total Voting Power = Your Locked Power + Delegated PowerVoting Period Mechanics
Proposal Lifecycle
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Draft │───>│ Review │───>│ Voting │───>│ Timelock │
│ 7 days │ │ 3 days │ │ 7 days │ │ 1-14 days│
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
│
v
┌──────────────┐
│ Execution │
│ or Defeat │
└──────────────┘Voting Period Timeline
| Stage | Duration | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Block N | Proposal becomes active, voting opens |
| Active | 7 days | Members cast and change votes |
| Grace | 6 hours | Final window before close |
| End | Block N+50400 | Voting closes, result finalized |
Quorum Requirements
For a vote to be valid, it must reach quorum:
| Proposal Type | Quorum | Approval Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1M tokens | >50% For |
| Constitutional | 5M tokens | >66.7% For |
| Emergency | 500K tokens | >75% For |
Abstain votes count toward quorum but not toward the approval calculation.
Result Calculation
Approval % = For Votes / (For Votes + Against Votes) × 100
Quorum % = (For + Against + Abstain) / Total Supply × 100Example:
- For: 600,000 tokens
- Against: 300,000 tokens
- Abstain: 100,000 tokens
- Total Supply: 10,000,000 tokens
Approval = 600,000 / (600,000 + 300,000) = 66.7% ✓
Quorum = 1,000,000 / 10,000,000 = 10% (need 1M for standard)
Result: PASSED (if 1M quorum met)How to Vote
Step 1: Find Active Proposals
Navigate to Governance > Proposals and filter by status:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Proposals [+ New] │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Filter: [All ▼] [Active ▼] [Treasury ▼] Search: [____] │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ #42 Fund Developer Grants Q1 [ACTIVE] │ │
│ │ Ends in 3 days 14 hours Quorum: 67% │ │
│ │ Requested: 50,000 USDC │ │
│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ #41 Update Staking Parameters [ACTIVE] │ │
│ │ Ends in 1 day 6 hours Quorum: 89% │ │
│ │ Changes: min stake, cooldown │ │
│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Step 2: Review Proposal Details
Click a proposal to see full details:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ #42: Fund Developer Grants Q1 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Status: ACTIVE Ends: Jan 15, 2026 at 14:00 UTC │
│ Author: 0x1234...abcd Type: Treasury Transfer │
│ │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ## Summary │
│ Allocate 50,000 USDC from treasury to fund developer │
│ grants for Q1 2026. │
│ │
│ ## Actions │
│ 1. Transfer 50,000 USDC to Grants Multisig (0x5678...) │
│ │
│ ## Discussion │
│ - Forum: [View Thread] │
│ - Discord: #proposal-42 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Step 3: Cast Your Vote
Select your voting choice:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Cast Your Vote │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Your Voting Power: 12,500 veTokens │
│ (10,000 locked + 2,500 delegated) │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ FOR │ │ AGAINST │ │ ABSTAIN │ │
│ │ ○ │ │ ○ │ │ ○ │ │
│ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Reason (optional): │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Supporting this because the grants program has │ │
│ │ consistently produced valuable contributions... │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ [Cancel] [Submit Vote] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Step 4: Confirm Transaction
- Click Submit Vote
- Review the transaction in your wallet
- Confirm and sign
- Wait for confirmation
On-chain votes require gas. For gasless voting options, see Gasless Voting.
Changing Your Vote
You can change your vote any time before the voting period ends:
- Navigate to the proposal
- Your current vote is displayed
- Click Change Vote
- Select new option
- Submit and sign
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Your Vote: FOR (cast 2 days ago) [Change] │
│ │
│ 12,500 veTokens committed │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Once the voting period ends, votes are final and cannot be changed.
Voting Strategies
Active Participation
- Review all proposals before voting
- Participate in forum discussions
- Consider long-term implications
- Vote on every proposal to maximize influence
Informed Delegation
If you lack time or expertise:
- Delegate to trusted representatives
- Monitor delegate voting records
- Revoke if delegates vote against your interests
Committee Focus
- Join committees aligned with your expertise
- Focus voting on committee-relevant proposals
- Abstain on topics outside your knowledge
Vote Tracking
Your Voting History
View past votes in Profile > Voting History:
| Proposal | Your Vote | Result | Power Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| #42 Fund Grants | For | Pending | 12,500 |
| #41 Staking Update | Against | Passed | 12,500 |
| #40 New Committee | For | Passed | 12,000 |
Proposal Analytics
Each proposal shows voting analytics:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Voting Progress │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Quorum Progress │
│ ████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░ 89% of 1M │
│ │
│ Current Result │
│ For: ████████████████████████████░░░░░░ 72% │
│ Against: ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 28% │
│ │
│ Participation │
│ Unique Voters: 234 │
│ Avg Vote Size: 3,803 tokens │
│ Largest Vote: 150,000 tokens │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Troubleshooting
"Insufficient Voting Power"
Causes:
- No tokens locked
- Lock has expired
- Snapshot taken before your lock
Solutions:
- Lock tokens for future proposals
- Extend existing lock
- Request delegation from others
"Voting Not Available"
Causes:
- Proposal not in voting period
- Already voted (check history)
- Wallet not connected
Solutions:
- Check proposal status
- Connect correct wallet
- Wait for voting period to start
"Transaction Failed"
Causes:
- Insufficient gas
- Network congestion
- Contract paused
Solutions:
- Increase gas limit
- Retry during low-traffic periods
- Check DAO status announcements