Abstract:

This proposal advocates for the implementation of shielded voting within Connext DAO’s governance process, utilizing the Shutter implementation on the Snapshot.The shielded voting offered by Snapshot is a voting mechanism deployed on the Shutter network, which uses cryptographic thresholds to hide the voting choice until the vote is over. Once voting has concluded, the lock would automatically be removed, displaying the detailed results, including who voted for what outcome of the proposal. This will prevent the voting process from altering voting outcomes

Motivation:

Openness, Transparency & Integrity are the DAO’s core values, however, the transparency of traditional DAO voting is prone to vulnerabilities such as MEV and malicious voter behavior, thus potentially influencing voting outcomes. Implementing shielded voting addresses these concerns, enhancing transparency while safeguarding the integrity of the voting process.

Rationale:

Implementing shielded voting enhances the security and integrity of the governance process and aligns with the DAO’s responsibility to optimize resource allocation and governance processes over time thus enhancing the efficiency and fairness of decision-making within the DAO thereby furthering the DAO’s vision of empowering builders to create universally accessible applications while maintaining high security standards.

Benefits

Reduce voter front-running Introduces partial privacy in voting Arguably reduces voter apathy

Key Terms:

Shielded Voting: A voting mechanism deployed on the Shutter network within the Snapshot platform, utilizing cryptographic thresholds to encrypt voting choices until the conclusion of the vote.

Front-running: The practice of exploiting advanced knowledge of pending transactions to gain an unfair advantage.

Maximal Extractable Value (MEV): The potential profit extracted by miners or validators through reordering transactions in a block to their advantage.

Specifications:

If passed, the proposal will activate shielded voting in Connext DAO’s main Snapshot space and any current or future non-emergency subspaces. Governance documentation will be updated accordingly. Voters will encrypt their votes with proposal keys, with decryption only possible by designated Keyholders after the vote concludes. The decrypted votes will be counted, submitted, and stored on a distributed system.

Steps to Implement:

If the proposal passes:

• Activate shielded voting in the main Snapshot space and relevant subspaces.
• Update governance documentation to reflect the implementation.
• Monitor voting outcomes and gather feedback from the community.

#Timeline: Proposal Communication and Feedback Gathering: 2 weeks Technical Assessment and Integration: 1 week Monitoring and Evaluation: Ongoing

Overall Cost:

None