NDC Polls Results: Shaping the NDC Elections

Hello NEAR Community, the NEAR Research Collective conducted a series of polls over the past month to gain your insights and input on key aspects of the upcoming NDC Elections.

The Polls include:

• Key Issues Within the NDC Community for Nominees to Share “Views” and “Pledges” on.
• Election Logistics (Active Voter, Handling Fraudlent Activities)
• Voter Eligibility (NDC Election v1)
• Election Logistics (Bond Values, Quorums for Congress…)
• Election Logistics (Min Vote Count + Setup Package)

Tl;dr: Community Polling Outcomes

• Voter Registration Deadline: September 1, 23:59:59 UTC (Determined by community poll)
• OG SBT Claim Deadline: September 1, 23:59:59 UTC (Following community feedback & GWG insights)
• Voter Eligibility: Voter Categories are Verified, Unverified, and Blacklist.
• Voting Bond: Set by considering community poll and based on voter eligibility.
• Whistleblower Bounty: Up to 2,500 NEAR
• Controlled Accounts: 500+ accounts will be Blacklisted.
• Non-Verified Voter Action: Additional verification & appeal process.
• Congress Term: 6 months
• V1 Spending Limit: $3M USD
• Vote for Setup Package During Election: Approved
• Budget Threshold for Major Items: $100,000 USD
• Blacklisted Voter Appeals: Can be directed to Election Integrity Council (EIC)
• Minimum Votes for a Seat: None, mirroring typical democratic elections and existing registration/election mechanisms.

Let’s dive into these polls results:

Poll 1: Key Issues Within the NDC Community

If you’ve nominated yourself or visited any candidate page on our Nomination Widget, you would be aware that part of the nominating process includes all nominees having to share their opinions on key issues, enabling voters to more efficiently assess the viability of various nominees in bringing about the will of the NDC community.

The NDC Community was polled on five Key Issues, which included:

1. Social Responsibility and Sustainability
2. Privacy, Compliance, and Governance Risk
3. Marketing and Outreach
4. Economic Growth and Innovation
5. User Experience and Accessibility

Upon analyzing the poll results, the Community’s preferences were clear. The top three choices that garnered significant attention were:

• Marketing and Outreach
• Economic Growth and Innovation
• User Experience and Accessibility

These results shed light on the priorities of the community and highlight the areas that resonate most with the NDC members. For a more comprehensive breakdown of this poll results, you can refer here.

Poll 2: Election Logistics (Active Voter, Handling Fraudlent Activities)

NDC Polls: Election Logistics (Active Voter, Handling Fraudlent Activities)

The second poll was aimed at getting community input on key aspects of the election process. This includes defining who qualifies as an “active voter”, determining how to handle vote buying or fraudulent activities, and deciding on the requirements for bonding $NEAR tokens. The questions posed to the community were as follows:

• Voter Registration Cut Off? — The community voted for 7 Days before the elections starts( Sept 1st). The community voice was decisive, with an overwhelming majority favoring a registration cutoff seven days prior to the start of the elections, set for September 1st. This timeframe ensures a well-vetted voter list, with bad actors removed and accounts categorized as verified or unverified, the latter requiring additional verification by the Election Integrity Commission before voting begins.

• Who should be eligible to register to vote in the v1 NDC Elections? — The query regarding who should be eligible to register for the v1 NDC Elections prompted thoughtful discussion. Although the possibility of a Voter SBT was initially considered, the community’s input led to the adoption of a reputation-based system.

• How much $NEAR should be bonded? — The Community preferred having a modest bond amount ranging between 1 and 5 NEAR. This inclusive approach reflects the community’s aspiration for broad participation, ensuring that the financial barrier to entry remains accessible to all members.

• How should we handle vote buying or fraudulent election activities? — We saw an almost a balanced response, a near-even split was observed among responses suggesting measures such as revoking their OG SBT, Assign Dings(Negative Reputation) & Blacklisting their NEAR Account.

Outcomes of this poll:

• Voter Registration Deadline: September 1, 23:59:59 UTC
• OG SBT Claim Deadline: September 1, 23:59:59 UTC (Following community feedback & GWG insights)
• Voting Bond: Set by considering community poll and based on voter eligibility.
• Voter Eligibility: Voter Categories are Verified, Unverified, and Blacklist.
• Action against fraudulent election activities: Assign Dings, Blacklist NEAR Account & Revoke OG SBT.

For a detailed breakdown of this poll results, visit here.

Poll 3: Voter Eligibility

The third poll was aimed at getting community input on some critical aspects related to voter eligibility and maintaining the integrity of the elections. The questions posed to the community were as follows:

• The value of the whistleblower bounty for reporting potential election attackers — After analysing the poll results, the consensus was reached to establish a fair bounty value of up to 2.5K NEAR for our Whistleblower Program. Read more about Whistleblower Program and how you can submit reports of wrongdoings like vote-buying during the NDC election with anonymous report here

• Handling Controlled IAH Account — The community decisively voted in favor of blacklisting the 500+ controlled IAH accounts that contributed to the nullification of the RC DAO election results. For insights into the GWG Reflection on RC DAO Elections & the measures taken to uphold the integrity of elections, check here.

• The process for removing voters from the greylist — Greylist refers to IAH Accounts that need additional verification to access IAH verified Privileges. The NDC community voted on re-verifying these accounts, granting access to IAH verified Privileges.

• OGs Involvement in HoM Setup — The House of Merit requires “setup package” that includes budget allocation guidelines, budget caps, congress session duration, salaries of congress members,& other key processes. The community voted on OGs helping out to craft this setup package! Check here what this Setup Package would look like.

• Dual Purpose Vote in September — The Poll was on Dual Voting to Vote for Congress & Setup Package at the same time or House of Merit should set up their own Setup Package that would probably lead to a delay in funding. The community voted for Dual Voting at time of Elections.

Outcomes of this poll:

• Whistleblower Bounty: Up to 2,500 NEAR
• Controlled Accounts: 500+ accounts will be Blacklisted
• Non-Verified Voter Action: Additional verification & appeal process
• Vote for Setup Package During Election: Approved

For a detailed breakdown of this poll results, check here.

Poll 4: Election Logistics (Bond Values, Quorums for Congress)

The fourth poll was aimed at getting further community input on crucial voter aspects like defining the bond amount, minimum vote count & punitive measure against attackers. The questions posed to the community were as follows:

• Defining Voting Bond Amount —Building upon a previous poll where the community expressed a preference for a bond amount between 1 to 5 NEAR, this poll aimed to achieve greater precision. The community provided a more precise result, favoring a range of 0.1 to 1 $NEAR. 1 NEAR would be most reasonable in that range.

• Minimum Vote Count or Not? — The community preferred having a minimum vote required for a candidate to get elected in a house. However, it was subsequently determined not to implement a minimum vote count, aligning with the democratic nature of elections.

• How the minimum vote count should be decided? — The community voted to have a fixed number — having atleast x amount of vote. The x was later polled in a subsequent poll, of which the results are mentioned below.

• Should proven attackers be barred from receiving NDC funds? — In a previous poll, the community agreed upon measures for those engaging in malicious activities against the NDC elections: assigning a negative reputation to the account, blacklisting the NEAR account, and revoking their OG SBT. The community has reached a consensus on additional actions against proven attackers in Elections. The majority supports attackers being barred for 1 Year from NDC Treasury.

Outcomes of this poll:

• Voting Bond: Set by considering community poll and based on voter eligibility.
• Addition Punitive Action against attackers: Barred from receiving funds from Community Treasury.
• Minimum Votes for a Seat: None, mirroring typical democratic elections and existing registration/election mechanisms.

For a detailed breakdown of this poll results, check here.

Poll 5: Election Logistics (Min Vote Count + Setup Package)

The fifth poll was aimed at getting a precise number for minimum vote count, Spend Cap for V1 Elections, Term Limit & Big Budget Items. The questions posed to the community were as follows:

• What Should Be the Minimum Vote Count for Nominee Election to a House? — The community shows a preference for 50 votes, with an average of 25 votes. However, it was subsequently determined not to implement a minimum vote count, aligning with the democratic nature of elections.

• EIC ability to unblacklist. — The community supports giving the Election Integrity Committee the authority to remove accounts from the blacklist. This decision underscores the community’s trust in the EIC’s role in maintaining the integrity and fairness of the electoral process.

• Spend Cap Value? — The community leans towards a $2–3M USD spend cap in NDC V1, with an average suggesting a $3M USD spend cap.

• Congress Term Limit? — The community leans towards a 6-month term limit for the first congress, with discussion about a shorter initial term as a test.

• Defining Big Budget Item — The community collaboratively defined the parameters for a big budget item, settling on a threshold of >$100,000. Although higher options were available, the community favored this range as the defining criterion for substantial financial allocations.

Outcomes of this poll:

• Congress Term: 6 months
• V1 Spending Limit: $3M USD
• Budget Threshold for Major Items: $100,000 USD
• Blacklisted Voter Appeals: Can be directed to Election Integrity Council (EIC).
• Minimum Votes for a Seat: None, mirroring typical democratic elections and existing registration/election mechanisms.

For a detailed breakdown of this poll results, check here.