Proposal Voting Override

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📘 User Manual 42 views Updated 1 month ago

Proposal Voting Override

One of Vora's most powerful features is the ability to override your organization's default voting mode on a per-proposal basis. This gives you complete flexibility to mix different voting eligibility rules across your proposals.

The Problem It Solves

Organizations often need different voting rules for different situations:

  • Default: Public voting for most proposals
  • Exception: VIP-only voting for premium feature decisions
  • Exception: Expert panel for technical architecture choices

Without proposal-level override, you'd need to change your org-wide settings for each exception - tedious and error-prone.

How It Works

When creating a proposal, you'll see a Voting Eligibility section that shows your organization's default voting mode. You can either:

  1. Use Organization Default - Inherit the org-wide voting mode
  2. Override for This Proposal - Select a different mode for just this proposal

The override only affects the single proposal - your organization default remains unchanged.

Available Override Options

Option Description
Use Organization Default Inherit settings from your space (recommended for consistency)
Whitelist Only Only pre-approved members can vote
Public Anyone with a valid phone number can vote via OTP
Badge Earner Only members with specific badges can vote

Setting Up an Override

Step 1: Create a New Proposal

Navigate to your space and click Create Proposal.

Step 2: Find Voting Eligibility Section

Scroll down to the Voting Eligibility section. You'll see:

  • Your organization's current default mode displayed
  • Four card options for voting mode selection

Step 3: Select Override Mode

Click on the card for your desired voting mode:

Use Organization Default

  • Inherits your org-wide settings
  • Recommended for most proposals
  • Keeps voting rules consistent

Whitelist Only

  • Restricts to pre-approved voters
  • Good for board votes, internal decisions
  • Voters must be in your member whitelist

Public

  • Opens voting to anyone
  • OTP verification required
  • Good for public polls, market research

Badge Earner

  • Restricts to badge holders
  • Select which badges grant access
  • Good for expert panels, VIP feedback

Step 4: Configure Badge Selection (if Badge Earner)

If you select Badge Earner, an additional section appears:

  1. Required Badges for This Proposal - Lists all your org's active badges
  2. Check the boxes for badges that should grant voting access
  3. Members with ANY selected badge can vote

Note: You must select at least one badge when using Badge Earner override.

Step 5: Complete and Submit

Fill in the rest of your proposal details and submit. The voting mode override is saved with the proposal.

Visual Indicators

On the Add Proposal Page

  • Selected voting mode card is highlighted with a green border
  • Organization default is shown for reference
  • Badge selection only appears when Badge Earner is selected

On the Proposal Page

Voters see the effective voting mode:

  • If using override: Shows the overridden mode
  • If using default: Shows the org default mode

Use Cases

Mixed Public and VIP Voting

Org Default: Public (anyone can vote)

Proposal Override Who Votes
"What color for new logo?" None (Public) Everyone
"Premium feature priority" Badge Earner (Gold) Gold members only
"Quick poll: event time" None (Public) Everyone

Expert Panel Reviews

Org Default: Whitelist

Proposal Override Who Votes
"Q4 Budget Approval" None (Whitelist) Board members
"Technical Architecture" Badge Earner (Expert) Tech experts only
"Office Location" Public All employees

Engagement-Gated Decisions

Org Default: Badge Earner (any badge)

Proposal Override Who Votes
"Product Roadmap" None (Any badge) Engaged members
"Major Rebrand" Badge Earner (Gold+) Top contributors only
"Community Event" Public Everyone welcome

Cascading Logic

Vora uses a cascading system to determine effective voting mode:

1. Check proposal override
   v (if set)
   Use proposal override

   v (if not set)
2. Use organization default

This means:

  • Proposal override ALWAYS takes precedence when set
  • Organization default is the fallback
  • Changes to org default don't affect proposals with explicit overrides

Badge Selection for Override

When using Badge Earner override, the badge selection is independent of your organization's badge settings:

Scenario Org Badge Earner Settings Proposal Override
Org uses Gold badge Gold required Can require Silver instead
Org uses Public N/A Can require any badge
Org uses Whitelist N/A Can require Badge Earner

This gives you complete flexibility to mix and match.

Best Practices

Use Sparingly

Overrides are powerful but can create confusion if overused. Reserve them for genuine exceptions.

Document in Description

When using an override, mention it in the proposal description:

"This vote is open to Gold members and above. [Learn how to earn badges]"

Consistent Patterns

Establish patterns your community can learn:

  • "Technical decisions -> Expert badge required"
  • "Community events -> Public voting"
  • "Budget items -> Board whitelist"

Preview Before Publishing

Always verify the voting mode before publishing. Once votes are cast, the mode cannot be changed.

Limitations

  • Cannot change after votes are cast - Lock in your decision before publishing
  • Requires badges to exist - Create badges first if using Badge Earner override
  • One mode per proposal - Cannot combine modes (e.g., Whitelist AND Badge)

Troubleshooting

"Please select at least one badge"

When using Badge Earner override, you must check at least one badge checkbox.

Badge section doesn't appear

The badge selector only shows when Badge Earner is selected. Click the Badge Earner card first.

Override not saving

Ensure you complete all required fields in the proposal form before submitting.

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