Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Glossary

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Vote Delegation

1 min read
Pronunciation
[voht del-i-gey-shuhn]
Analogy
Like giving a trusted colleague a power of attorney to vote at shareholder meetings when you can’t attend.
Definition
A mechanism allowing token holders to assign their voting power to another address, enabling proxy voting on their behalf.
Key Points Intro
Delegation increases governance participation by offloading voting effort.
Key Points

Proxy: delegatee casts votes using delegator’s voting weight

Revocable: delegators can change or withdraw delegation

Gas savings: fewer transactions by consolidating votes

Transparency: on-chain records of delegation mappings

Example
Compound token holders delegate their COMP balance to governance delegates who vote on proposals in their stead.
Technical Deep Dive
ERC-20Votes extension implements `delegate(address)` and checkpointing: updates `checkpoints[delegatee]` at current block. `getPastVotes` reads historical vote power for proposal snapshot blocks.
Security Warning
Delegates may act against delegators’ interests; choose delegates carefully.
Caveat
Over-delegation can centralize voting power and reduce direct stakeholder engagement.
Related Terms
Voter Quorum
Vote Weighting

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