Delegate voting is live on the Aragon app! You can now delegate your voting power to another address to vote on your behalf. When you want to claim your voting power, you can do so at any time within the app. This is available to any token-based DAO.
Delegate voting, a form of liquid democracy, is when you delegate your voting power to someone else to vote on your behalf.
Delegate voting is a common governance option for DAOs. It's difficult to maintain context for all the decisions that happen in an organization, so it's helpful to delegate someone who is able to keep up with proposals and governance.
The ability to opt out of authorization is just as important as opting in to it. In the Aragon app, you can change your authorization at any time. And you don't need to delegate to someone else – you can claim your voting authority and exercise your voting rights on every proposal yourself! Delegated voting gives token holders the option of representative or direct democracy.
Improve decision making within your DAO
Not all token holders have the time to keep up with every new discussion and conversation happening on the DAO. Delegation allows token holders to choose an expert to vote on their behalf, removing the burden of making many governance choices.
This can improve decision-making because a smaller group of individuals with specific expertise can make decisions, rather than all token holders having to have their say on everything.
“Aragon DAO members can now delegate their voting powers to other members with in-depth knowledge or expertise in a particular field, allowing DAOs to make more informed and efficient decisions.”
—Ruggero, Senior Front-End Developer at Aragon
This is especially important for DAOs, which are decentralized autonomous organizations that manage smart contract protocols such as pools, liquid storage derivatives, or decentralized exchanges. Often, token holders need to maintain important context for voting in the protocol's DAOs, because votes directly make changes to contracts. This means that voters must be able to read smart contract code or have a technical understanding of what is happening so that they can cast an informed vote. Delegation can solve this problem, because token holders can delegate their votes to actors who have this additional context.
Token holders can redeem it at any time – keeping delegates accountable
Delegates do not have unchecked power – they are held accountable by token holders, because token holders can claim their voting power at any time – there is no need to wait for elections to do so. If delegates do not best serve the interests of token holders, token holders can revoke the delegation of their tokens and begin voting themselves, or delegate to someone else.
Enhancing DAO security by increasing token staking
Delegation can increase symbolic participation, because DAO members who may have missed votes or intentionally skipped them because they did not have enough context about the proposal, can have an informed expert vote for them.
This increased token sharing enhances the security of your DAO because it makes it more difficult for a coordinated individual or group to purchase tokens and pass proposals unilaterally. The more tokens involved, the more secure your DAO becomes.
Saving on gas fees due to consolidated votes
By pooling votes together, you can save on gas fees because not everyone has to vote. For example, instead of 50 delegates casting a vote and each paying for it, perhaps only 10 delegates cast a vote. Having more voting power does not increase the cost of gas, so this can help DAO members save on gas fees they would otherwise pay.
Delegate your current and future voting power to any address
Go to “Governance” and click “Delegate” to delegate your current and future voting rights to another address. So, if you purchase or receive more governance tokens, this voting power will be delegated to the new address for you to claim. You can only delegate your full voting power, you cannot divide your delegation.
Delegate the ability to create proposals
If your DAO has a token gateway that limits who can create proposals, such as a requirement to hold one token to be able to create a proposal, the ability to create proposals will be delegated to the new address as well. If you want to regain your ability to create proposals, you will need to claim your voting power.
Claim your voting power at any time
You can claim your voting power at any time, but if you do so during a live motion, you will not be able to vote until a new motion is created. This is because a snapshot of voting strength is taken at the beginning of each proposal.
Delegation not allowed – There is no process to become a delegate
You do not need to become a delegate in the Aragon application, your address is already capable of receiving authorization. So, how do you get the word out to other DAO members you want to delegate? Simply give your address to other DAO members so they know you are interested in receiving authorization! You can post your address in DAO format channels such as forum, discord, or telegram chat. Or you can reach the wider world by posting on social media or launching a website for delegates.
You retain control of your tokens, and delegates cannot access or re-delegate your tokens
Declarative delegation is not allowed, so your delegate cannot delegate tokens to someone else. If you sell or transfer your tokens, the Delegate's voting power will be reduced by the amount you sold or transferred. If you purchase more tokens, the delegate's voting power will be increased by the amount you purchased.
See how to delegate your voting power in our guide below:
Next: Delegate personal files
Next in the app are delegate profiles. Thinking carefully about who you choose as a delegate is important, because delegates make decisions for the organization. You don't want your DAO members to delegate only familiar faces or well-known DAO members – it's better to choose people who already have the context needed to make the best decisions for the organization.
Keep an eye out for profiles that show more detailed information about who your reps are!
Any token-based DAO can delegate tokens. So, get started today! Head to the Governance page in the Aragon app to delegate your voting rights to any other address. Or check out this guide to learn more about delegation.
