What approval voting reveals
Approval voting lets participants mark every option they find acceptable, which makes it simple, fast, and useful when the group wants a broad acceptability signal.
Its simplicity is also its limit. Approving two options does not show whether one is a mild fallback and the other is a deeply preferred choice.
What quadratic voting adds
Quadratic voting lets participants allocate different intensities across alternatives. Stronger support or opposition costs more, so preference strength becomes visible and accountable.
Nicolas adds liquid delegation and cost accounting, which lets groups inspect the result and the mechanism that produced it.
How to choose
Use approval voting when the group needs a low-friction acceptability check and does not need to distinguish intensity.
Use Nicolas when options create unequal stakes and the group needs to understand how strongly participants support or oppose each alternative.