VoS: Practical Verifiable Voting with Trustless Aggregation and Minimal On-chain Footprint

Abstract

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) overwhelmingly use token-weighted voting as their core governance mechanism. Empirical evidence reveals that this approach often leads to plutocratic governance, with voting power concentrated among a few large holders. Traditional models exacerbate this dilemma: on-chain voting is transparent but costly, marginalizing small participants, while off-chain mechanisms lower participation costs but rely on trusted multi-signature execution, reintroducing centralization. To resolve this trilemma of decentralization, efficiency, and trust, we propose a VoS. VoS introduces a trust-minimized aggregation model tailored for DAO governance: votes are collected offchain and aggregated into a constant-size proof that smart contracts verify in $O(1)$ time, thereby enabling fully on-chain execution without intermediaries. Although VoS cannot eliminate the plutocracy rooted in token distribution, it prevents governance mechanisms from amplifying it, charting a practical path toward secure, efficient, and trust-minimized DAO governance.