Voting
Voting in OMXUS is direct, proximity-weighted, and cryptographically verified. No representatives. You vote on issues that affect you, and your vote counts more the closer you are to the issue.
How It Works
Proposal Submission
Any token holder can submit a proposal:
- Draft your proposal
- Submit through the app
- Proposal enters endorsement phase
Endorsement
Proposals need minimum endorsement to proceed:
- Other token holders can endorse
- Threshold varies by scope (neighborhood vs national)
- Endorsed proposals enter voting phase
Voting Window
Each proposal has a defined voting window:
- Duration proportional to scope
- Local issues: days
- Regional issues: weeks
- National issues: months
Vote Types
OMXUS supports multiple vote expression types:
- Binary: Yes/No
- Ranked choice: Order preferences
- Quadratic: Strength of preference (costs more to express strong preference)
- Approval: Select all acceptable options
Understanding Quadratic Voting
Proximity Weighting
The Principle
Those most affected by decisions have the strongest voice.
How It Works
Your vote weight depends on proximity:
- Geographic: Live near the affected area = more weight
- Social: Connected to affected people = more weight
- Domain: Expertise in the relevant area = more weight
The Formula
Influence decreases with the square of distance:
Weight = 1 / (distance)^2
This ensures:
- Local people dominate local decisions
- Everyone can still participate
- Expertise is recognized
- Universal participation is preserved
Example
A proposal to build a park in Melbourne:
- Melbourne residents: Full weight
- Victorian residents: Reduced weight
- Other Australians: Minimal weight (but still counted)
Everyone can vote, but those who will live with the park have the strongest say.
What Votes CAN Do
From the Principles:
- Decide where to build a park
- Set community resource allocation
- Establish shared infrastructure priorities
- Determine collective spending
- Set policy on shared resources
What Votes CANNOT Do
From the Principles:
- Restrict what you consume
- Mandate beliefs or associations
- Punish individual choices
- Surveil without consent
- Affect individual freedom
Collective decisions govern collective resources. No vote can constrain what you do with your own body, time, relationships, or property.
Technical Implementation
Cryptographic Verification
Every vote is:
- Signed by your ring
- Encrypted (individual choice hidden)
- Aggregated with others
- Verified on-chain
Privacy
- Your vote choice is secret
- That you voted is public
- Aggregate tallies are transparent
- No one can see how you specifically voted
Aggregation
Votes aggregate hierarchically:
- Block level
- Neighborhood level
- District level
- Regional level
- State level
- National level
Each level signs the aggregation before passing up.
Quorum Requirements
Different scopes require different participation:
| Scope | Affected Population | Quorum Required |
|---|---|---|
| Block | ~100 people | 20% |
| Neighborhood | ~1,000 people | 15% |
| District | ~10,000 people | 10% |
| Regional | ~100,000 people | 8% |
| State | ~3,000,000 people | 5% |
| National | ~30,000,000 people | 3% |
Voting on the App
Finding Proposals
The app shows you:
- Proposals in your area (highest weight)
- Proposals you're qualified to vote on
- Proposals others have shared with you
- National proposals (everyone can vote)
Making Your Choice
- Open the proposal
- Read the details
- See discussion and arguments
- Make your choice
- Tap your ring to sign
- Vote is submitted
Seeing Results
After voting closes:
- Aggregate results are published
- Your vote is confirmed (you can verify it was counted)
- Decision is recorded
- Implementation begins (if approved)
Connection to Direct Democracy
From the Whitepaper:
Representative democracy emerged from communication constraints: citizens could not practically participate in every decision, so they delegated authority to representatives. These constraints no longer exist. Digital infrastructure enables real-time, large-scale coordination.
OMXUS eliminates the politician as a role. Policy decisions are made directly by affected participants. Technical implementation is delegated to domain experts who are accountable to direct democratic oversight, not electoral cycles.