Definition ∞ The principle ensuring that an individual’s vote remains private and cannot be connected back to them. In decentralized autonomous organizations, this involves cryptographic methods to obscure voting choices while still allowing for verification of results. It prevents undue influence or retaliation against voters based on their decisions. Maintaining this privacy is crucial for fostering genuine and unbiased participation in governance processes.
Context ∞ Discussions around ballot secrecy in blockchain governance often focus on zero-knowledge proofs and other privacy-enhancing technologies. Achieving robust ballot secrecy is a significant technical challenge for many decentralized systems seeking to avoid voter manipulation. Its absence can compromise the integrity and legitimacy of on-chain decision-making, impacting public trust in digital governance structures.