# Voting

Voting is the decision-making power given to all DOT token holders in the Polkadot ecosystem. Principally, partaking in on-chain governance means using/locking tokens to vote for or against proposed changes to current network operations.&#x20;

Every token holder has the opportunity to:&#x20;

* [vote directly](https://dot-alert.gitbook.io/dot.alert/content/3.operations/voting/direct-democracy) on OpenGov referenda
* [delegate their voting power](https://dot-alert.gitbook.io/dot.alert/content/3.operations/voting/democracy-delegation) to someone else

<figure><img src="https://2458985513-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FL6ALv1GyPrgErCsK1L2I%2Fuploads%2FFlABdiZ4kPyTnLR4b71L%2FO_VPolkadotOpenGov.PNG?alt=media&#x26;token=2b0cd88f-a1a3-42a8-b54c-dbf4fe6639ec" alt="Polkadot OpenGov gives token holders the power to decide on the direction of the network."><figcaption><p><a href="https://polkadot.network/features/opengov/">Polkadot OpenGov</a> gives the decision-making power of the network to token holders.</p></figcaption></figure>
