Organize · Governance

A community vote people can answer honestly

Anonymous ballots so members vote their conscience, then a why-question for every side. You leave with a decision you can defend, not just a number.

Organize Communities Anonymous votingSkip logicTell-us-why follow-upAnswer piping
What it showcases

Features most survey bots don't have

🗳️

Anonymous by design

No name is ever attached to a ballot, so members vote what they actually think instead of following the room. It is the whole point of a fair vote.

🗣️

It captures the why

For-voters explain the upside, Against-voters name their concern. You get the arguments on both sides, not just a headcount.

🤝

Abstain without noise

Skip logic sends decisive voters to the matching why-question and lets abstainers pass straight through. Nobody is nagged for a reason they do not have.

🔥

Weigh intensity

A strength read lets you tell a passionate minority from a lukewarm majority, so a close tally is not the end of the story.

Worked example This template comes with a a weekly community game-night proposal example so you can see exactly how it plays. Edit the questions and content to make it your own.

A reaction-emoji poll is public, gives you a bare count, and is trivially brigaded. This template runs the vote the way a community should decide things: an anonymous ballot so people answer honestly, and a why-question for everyone who takes a side so you keep the reasoning behind the result.

Reach for it whenever the community, not the mods alone, should make the call: a server rule change, how to spend a community fund, whether to run an event, approving a new moderator, a DAO-style proposal.

The reasoning is the point

An anonymous For, Against, or Abstain vote gives you the real split. Then skip logic sends For-voters to “what makes this worth doing?” and Against-voters to “what is your main concern?”, so you leave with the arguments on both sides. A quick strength read lets you weigh a passionate minority against a lukewarm majority.

The example runs as a weekly game-night proposal. Swap it for your own motion and the whole flow adapts.

Variants

  • Threshold framing: state the passing bar up front (“needs 60% For to pass”) so voters know the stakes.
  • Multi-option proposal: replace For/Against/Abstain with competing options and add a why-branch per option.
  • Vote of record: switch to semi-private for an accountable delegate vote where names should be attached.
  • Recurring governance: run it on a schedule to keep big decisions in the community’s hands.
How to run it

Live in a few minutes

  1. 1

    Clone and write the proposal

    Swap in your motion: a rule change, a fund allocation, an event decision, a mod proposal. State it plainly at the top.

  2. 2

    Keep it anonymous

    The template ships in anonymous mode. Leave it there for an honest ballot, or switch to semi-private if the vote needs to be on the record.

  3. 3

    Publish and collect

    Members vote For, Against, or Abstain, then answer the why-question that matches their side.

  4. 4

    Read the tally and the reasons

    See the count, read the arguments on both sides, and publish the result without names.

FAQ

Common questions

Why make the vote anonymous?

People answer divisive questions honestly when their name is not attached. An anonymous ballot gets you the real split, while a public reaction poll gets you the loudest voices and a herd.

Can I make it a vote of record instead?

Yes. Switch the privacy mode to semi-private and you regain the voter's name and personalized piping, at the cost of the honest-ballot property. Pick per how sensitive the decision is.

What happens to people who abstain?

They skip both why-branches. Only decisive voters are asked to explain, so abstainers are not forced to invent a reason.

Is this only for DAOs?

No. It fits any group that votes on shared decisions: Discord servers, guilds, clubs, and communities, as well as token-based governance.

Use this template

Clone it into your community, swap in your content, and share it. No building from scratch.