Mechanism guide

Liquid quadratic voting with delegation and preference intensity

Liquid quadratic voting combines direct voting with delegation. Whoever controls credits must spend them under a quadratic cost rule.

Start a decisionSee the mechanism

Nicolas mechanism signals

These concepts follow the mathematical contract used by the app.

Convex cost

cost = c * sum a_ij^2

Voice budget

sum a_ij^2 <= B

Outcome rule

shifted softmax over support

What liquid means

Liquid delegation lets a participant route decision control to someone they trust, while direct voting excludes that active delegation for the decision.

This keeps delegation flexible. People can rely on trusted expertise when they need to, but still vote directly when they care enough or have relevant context.

What quadratic means

The controller spends a finite budget under the squared-cost rule. Stronger support or opposition is possible, but it uses credits quickly.

Several credits controlled as one bundle have maximum intensity that grows with the square root of the bundle, so independent aligned votes can be cheaper than one concentrated delegated vote.

Where Nicolas fits

Nicolas is useful when expertise is distributed and the group needs an intensity-aware signal across named alternatives.

Nicolas does not provide a political party platform, blockchain governance stack, statutory election product, or deliberation forum.

Use cases

Where this decision model helps

Delegated expertise

Route voice credits to trusted participants for technical or context-heavy decisions.

Direct voting override

Let participants vote directly when they want to control their own credits for a decision.

Intensity-aware governance

Measure support and opposition after delegation has shaped who controls credits.

FAQ

Is liquid quadratic voting the same as liquid democracy?

No. Liquid democracy describes delegation broadly, while liquid quadratic voting adds a quadratic cost rule for signed vote intensity.

What happens if someone delegates and votes directly?

In Nicolas, direct voting excludes the active delegation for that decision, so the participant controls their own vote.

Does delegation increase voting power?

Delegation can concentrate control, but the squared-cost rule means one controller's maximum intensity grows more slowly than several independent aligned voters.

Keep reading

Continue with adjacent concepts and practical Nicolas workflows.

Liquid democracyCompare Nicolas' delegation model with broader liquid democracy.Quadratic costsLearn the cost rule that bounds delegated vote intensity.