Pending vote balances from Hive SBI (and Steem Basic Income on the other chain) accumulate for up to a year (or a little longer, depending on when we run the script that trims balances) of inactivity.
The big votes when accounts return are intended to encourage them to get back into a habit of posting. Vote size will gradually trail off to a new normal for your posting activity.
appreciate the explanation, and im glad to see yall are still at it!