Proposals give your space an auditable, async way to decide things: a member drafts a question, opens it for voting, members record a position, and the app computes quorum and pass/fail for you. This recipe walks the full lifecycle from draft to decided.

![The Proposals screen groups items into open for voting, drafts, and archive, each with a live tally.](/docs-media/proposals.jpg)

## Before you start

- Any current member can create a proposal and open it for voting. A member whose status is still `unverified` (pending approval) cannot create, open, or vote.
- Only an `admin` or `board` member can mark an open proposal **decided**. A proposer can **withdraw** their own proposal only while it is still a **draft**; an `admin` or `board` member can withdraw a draft **or** an open proposal. The Withdraw button also appears to the proposer on an open proposal, but clicking it there is a silent no-op, row-level security blocks the change and no error is shown.
- Quorum and the voting window are not entered per proposal. They are computed from your space's governance defaults at the moment voting opens. You choose only the pass **threshold**.

## Create the proposal

1. Go to [/proposals](/proposals) and click **New proposal** (this opens [/proposals/new](/proposals/new)).
2. Fill in **Title** and **Body**. The body accepts Markdown and is rendered on the detail page.
3. Pick a **Type**. This is a label describing the kind of decision:

   | Type | Use for |
   |------|---------|
   | `advisory_poll` | Non-binding sense of the room (the default) |
   | `board_action` | A specific action for the board to take |
   | `membership_vote` | A decision put to the membership |
   | `bylaw_change` | Amending a policy or bylaw |
   | `budget` | Spending or budget approval |
   | `recall` | A vote of confidence / recall |

4. Pick a **Threshold to pass**. This sets how the yes/no split is judged when the proposal is decided:

   | Threshold | Passes when |
   |-----------|-------------|
   | `simple_majority` | Yes votes exceed no votes |
   | `two_thirds` | Yes is at least two-thirds of yes+no |
   | `three_fourths` | Yes is at least three-fourths of yes+no |
   | `unanimous` | No "no" votes and at least one "yes" |

5. To go straight to voting, tick **Open voting immediately**. Its label notes that quorum and the voting window come from space defaults. Leave it unchecked to save a draft you can open later.
6. Click **Save proposal**. You land on the proposal's detail page.

## Open voting

If you saved a draft, open it when you are ready. On the proposal page under **Manage**, click **Open for voting**. At that moment the app:

- counts your active members and computes `quorum_required` from the space's default quorum percent (with a floor), and
- sets the voting window using the default window length (shipped default is 216 hours, or 9 days) unless you supplied a close time.

Once open, the proposal moves to the **Open for voting** section on [/proposals](/proposals) and shows its close time.

## Let members vote

While voting is open, every member sees a **Cast your vote** panel with four positions: `yes`, `no`, `abstain`, `recused`. Choosing `recused` requires a recusal reason. A public **Comment** is optional. Members can change their vote until the window closes; votes are never deleted. All votes and voter names are visible to the space for transparency.

The **Tally** section updates live: yes / no / abstain / recused counts, plus a quorum bar showing votes counted against `quorum_required` and whether quorum is **met**. Quorum counts yes, no, and abstain; recused votes do not count toward quorum.

## Record the outcome

When the discussion has run its course, an `admin` or `board` member clicks **Mark decided** under **Manage**. This freezes the tally, stamps the decision time, and sets the outcome. The proposal page then shows **PASSED** or **DID NOT PASS**, and it moves to the **Archive** section on [/proposals](/proposals).

A proposal passes only if quorum was met **and** the threshold you chose is satisfied on the yes/no split (abstentions do not count toward the threshold). If quorum was never met, the result is **DID NOT PASS** regardless of the vote split.

## Related

- [Governance model](/docs/explanation/governance-model), why proposals, incidents, and policies are built together.
- [Governance reference](/docs/reference/governance), every enum, field, and status.