Home/Blockchain/DAO Voting Simulator/Voting Mechanics

⚙️ Voting Mechanics: For, Against, Abstain

Understand how votes are cast and counted on-chain

Participate in decentralized governance decisions

Your Progress

0 / 5 completed
1
2
3
4
5

⚙️ Voting Mechanics: Proposals, Timelock, and Execution

DAO votes aren't instant. Proposals go through stages: drafting (discussion), voting period (3-7 days), timelock delay (1-14 days), then execution. This prevents rushed decisions and gives stakeholders time to exit if they disagree. Different proposal types require different thresholds—treasury spending needs simple majority, protocol changes need supermajority.

🎮 Interactive: Proposal Voting Simulator

Simulate a DAO vote on different proposal types. Adjust votes for/against/abstain and see if the proposal passes based on quorum and threshold requirements.

💰

Treasury Allocation

Allocate 500k USDC to marketing campaign

Medium Risk
Quorum Required
4% (400k tokens)
Passing Threshold
Simple majority (>50%)
Timelock Period
2 days
350,000
150,000
50,000
Vote DistributionTotal: 550,000 votes
63.6%
27.3%
For: 63.6%Against: 27.3%Abstain: 9.1%
Quorum Reached?✓ Yes (550,000 / 400k)
Threshold Met?✓ Yes (63.6% > 50%)
Proposal Status✓ PASSED

Real Example: Uniswap treasury grants

📋 Proposal Lifecycle Stages

1️⃣
Draft & Discussion (3-7 days)

Proposal posted on forum (Discourse, Commonwealth). Community debates, suggests changes. Temperature checks (informal polls).

2️⃣
Snapshot Vote (5-7 days)

Off-chain vote on Snapshot (free, no gas). Tests sentiment. Not binding but influences on-chain vote. UNI: 90% use Snapshot.

3️⃣
On-Chain Vote (3-7 days)

Binding vote via smart contract. Costs gas. Requires quorum + threshold. Only governance token holders vote. Final decision.

4️⃣
Timelock Period (1-14 days)

Delay before execution. Prevents surprise attacks. Gives users time to exit. Critical upgrades = longer timelock (14 days). Compound uses 2-day minimum.

5️⃣
Execution

Anyone can trigger execution after timelock. Smart contract automatically implements changes. Funds released, parameters updated, contracts upgraded.

💡 Key Insight

Voting mechanics create intentional friction. Fast decisions = dangerous. Timelock delays prevent governance attacks (buy tokens → vote → execute → dump). But friction also means slow governance—Compound needs 10+ days to change interest rates, even in crisis. Trade-off: security vs. agility. Some DAOs use guardian multisigs for emergencies (Aave, MakerDAO), bypassing slow governance when needed. This undermines decentralization but adds safety. Next: how quorum and thresholds determine what actually passes.

← Introduction