How DAO voting works
A practical walkthrough of proposals, voting power, quorum, Snapshot and on-chain execution.
The basics
A DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) is a group that coordinates through rules encoded in smart contracts and social processes. In token-weighted governance, voting power is usually proportional to the governance tokens a wallet holds or has been delegated at a specific block — the snapshot block.
Three parameters shape almost every system:
- Proposal threshold — the minimum voting power needed to submit a proposal.
- Quorum — the minimum participation (often “for” votes) for a result to count.
- Voting period — how long a vote stays open, typically a few days.
Proposal lifecycle
Discussion
An idea is posted on the governance forum. Community feedback shapes the draft.
Temperature check
A gasless off-chain poll (often on Snapshot) measures sentiment before anything binding happens.
Formal proposal
A final proposal is submitted — either as a binding Snapshot vote executed by a multisig, or on-chain through a governor contract.
Voting
Holders or delegates vote For, Against or Abstain. The proposal passes if quorum and majority rules are met.
Timelock & execution
Passed on-chain proposals wait in a timelock, giving users time to react, before the encoded transactions execute.
Snapshot: off-chain voting
Snapshot lets wallets vote by signing messages instead of sending transactions, so voting costs no gas. Voting power is calculated by configurable “strategies” — for example, token balance at a given block, staked balances, or delegated power.
Key point: Snapshot results are not self-executing. A trusted party — usually a multisig — must carry out the decision, unless the DAO uses an execution module that bridges the result on-chain.
On-chain governors
Governor-style contracts (popularised by Compound's Governor and OpenZeppelin's Governor library) record proposals and votes directly on-chain. Once a vote passes, anyone can queue it in a Timelock and execute it after the delay. This removes reliance on signers but costs gas and requires careful parameter design. Interfaces such as Tally make these contracts easier to use.
| Aspect | Snapshot (off-chain) | Governor (on-chain) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to vote | Free (signature) | Gas per vote |
| Execution | Multisig or module | Automatic after timelock |
| Trust assumption | Executors act honestly | Contract code & parameters |
| Flexibility | High, many strategies | Lower, but binding |
Voting power & delegation
Many tokens implement checkpointed balances (e.g. the ERC-20 Votes extension), so voting power must be delegated — even to yourself — before it counts. Delegation lets passive holders hand their voice to active, accountable delegates without transferring tokens.
Voter checklist
- Read the full proposal and forum thread, not only the title.
- Check what on-chain actions will execute and who benefits.
- Look for conflicts of interest disclosed by the author.
- Verify links and contract addresses via official sources.
- Publish or read delegate voting rationales.