Direct Democracy

An overview of account setups and user-friendly platforms for governance participation in the Polkadot ecosystem.

What is Direct Democracy?

Direct democracy is when you cast your votes from your own Polkadot account(s). This can be carried out using different setups. You can use a standard account that contains all your funds to complete your every day operations, including voting. You can also use a separate governance proxy account to sign democracy transactions on behalf of your every day account. It is essential to note that OpenGov allows many different classes of referendum to take place at the same time.

Overview of a voting transaction for an OpenGov referendum.

How-to: Participating in Direct Democracy

In the Polkadot ecosystem, the main governance platforms that can be used for voting are Polkadot-JS Apps, Polkassembly, OpenSquare, SubSquare, Commonwealth and Proof of Chaos. Most of these platforms have integrated parachains into their interfaces because ecosystem projects need token holders to vote on decisions in a decentralised manner.

When voting, you select an amount out of your staked or available coins that you are willing to lock for the duration of the vote. You can also lock your coins for a longer time to multiply the value of your vote within the overall turnout. Furthermore, some platforms use Quadratic voting strategies to determine the final outcome of a vote, which are useful to prevent token-rich holders from taking control of all governance decisions.

Web3Alert provides notifications for governance-related events across many ecosystem chains.

Risks: Secure Setups for Direct Democracy Operations

Every time you use your Polkadot account to sign a transaction, be it voting on a referendum or transferring funds, your private keys are used. This exposes them to potential attacks by hackers, especially if you are using new platforms or third-party dapps. For this reason, it is recommended to use of a governance proxy account, as an extra layer of security for your main account and its funds.

Conviction locks are an essential mechanism for giving governance power to token holders, since they can give more weight to their vote in support or against a proposal. It is important to remember that you will not be able to transfer your coins until the locking period is complete, which can put some of your other holdings at risk if you are participating in DeFi operations that require more collateral over time.