> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.summer.fi/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.summer.fi/lazy-summer-protocol/governance/usdsumr-token/voting-power.md).

# Voting Power

> **Governance V2 update:** The voting-power **decay** system described previously has been **retired**. Under Governance V2 (powered by Staking V2), governance power is constant and does not decay. This page now describes how voting power works under V2; the V1 decay mechanism is retained only as historical context at the bottom.

### How Voting Power Works (V2)

Your voting power comes from:

* **Staked SUMR (stSUMR):** governance power is granted when you stake (and optionally lock).
* **Delegated voting power:** received from other stakers.

This power is **constant** for the duration of your stake or lock, there is no decay and no grace-window countdown. Missing a vote does not reduce your voting power or your staking rewards. You can vote directly or delegate; delegation can be changed at any time (subject to the maximum delegation depth of 2).

Because power is stake-based, locking longer increases your reward multiplier (see Staking) but does not change the one-token-one-vote weighting of your staked balance for governance.

### Why decay was removed

V1 used decay to push token holders toward active participation, but it penalised honest long-term holders who occasionally missed votes and complicated reward accounting. Governance V2 replaces "participate-or-decay" with "stake-and-lock" alignment: conviction is expressed through lock duration and reward multipliers rather than through decaying votes.

***

### Appendix (Historical): V1 Voting-Power Decay (retired)

*The following described Governance V1 and no longer applies.* Voting power started at 100% and, after a 60-day decay-free window, decreased at \~10%/yr (linear or exponential), with delegation inheriting the lowest decay factor in a chain (max depth 2). Governance actions reset the decay timer. This mechanism, and its `VotingDecayLibrary` / `VotingDecayMath` contracts, were retired with the migration to Governance V2.