Voting Bodies: who votes on Cardano governance
Who decides on Cardano: DReps, stake pools and the Constitutional Committee. Which of them votes on what, and what happens to approved treasury money.
DReps
Delegated representatives. Ada holders delegate their voting power to a DRep, who votes for them on every kind of governance action. A DRep’s vote counts as much as the ada delegated to them.
Stake pools
Stake pool operators run the computers that make Cardano’s blocks. They vote on what affects running the network: hard forks, key safety settings, and who sits on the Constitutional Committee. They can also answer polls. A pool’s vote counts as much as the stake delegated to it.
Constitutional Committee
A small committee with one job: checking that each governance action follows the Cardano Constitution. Each member has one vote. It judges whether a proposal is allowed, not whether it is a good idea.
How a proposal is decided
- Ada holders have the say, in proportion to the ada they hold. Most delegate to a representative, a DRep (298 are active now). Ada that is not delegated is not counted.
- Three groups vote: DReps for ada holders, stake pools for the people who run the network, and the Constitutional Committee, which checks each proposal against the constitution. Not every group votes on every kind of proposal.
- Anyone can submit a proposal, paying a deposit of ₳100K that comes back when the vote ends. Voting stays open for 6 epochs, about 30 days.
- Votes are counted at the end of every epoch. Each group must reach its own share of yes votes; abstentions are left out, and an active DRep who does not vote usually counts as a no.
- Once every group that votes has said yes, the proposal is approved at the end of that epoch and takes effect at the end of the next. If time runs out first, it expires.
- Approved treasury money leaves the treasury when the proposal takes effect, and most of it goes into a smart contract that pays it out in parts.
Who votes on what
| Kind of action | DReps | Stake pools | Constitutional Committee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Info action: A non-binding poll. It records a view on-chain and changes nothing by itself. | Votes; nothing is needed, it is a poll | Votes; nothing is needed, it is a poll | Votes; nothing is needed, it is a poll |
| Treasury withdrawal: Pays ADA out of the Cardano treasury. | Votes; 67% needed | Does not vote | Votes; 2 in 3 must agree |
| Protocol parameter change: Changes settings such as fees, block size or governance deposits. | Votes; 67% to 75% needed, by the settings changed | Votes on security settings only; 51% needed | Votes; 2 in 3 must agree |
| Hard fork: Moves the network to a new protocol version. | Votes; 60% needed | Votes; 51% needed | Votes; 2 in 3 must agree |
| New constitution: Replaces the Constitution or its guardrails script. | Votes; 75% needed | Does not vote | Votes; 2 in 3 must agree |
| Committee update: Changes the Constitutional Committee’s members, terms or quorum. | Votes; 67% needed | Votes; 51% needed | Does not vote |
| Motion of no confidence: Removes the sitting Constitutional Committee. | Votes; 67% needed | Votes; 51% needed | Does not vote |
After the vote: who looks after approved money
- Most approved money first goes into a smart contract, a program on the blockchain that only releases it under fixed rules. Intersect runs most of these contracts; a few teams run their own copy.
- No one can move the money alone. Starting a project, pausing a payment or sending money elsewhere needs enough signatures from each group of signers.
- Each project is paid in steps, one payment per milestone. The team claims each payment once its date passes, unless the signers have paused it.
- Every step is a public blockchain transaction. When a contract expires, money no project is using can be sent back to the treasury.
Who holds the keys
- Intersect Leadership: Intersect Leadership 3, Intersect Leadership 4, Intersect Leadership 5
- Intersect Admin: Intersect Admin 1, Intersect Admin 2, Intersect Admin 3, Intersect Admin 4, Intersect Admin 5
- Trusted Entities: Cardano Foundation, Sundae Labs, NMKR, DQuadrant, Sundial, Eternl
Who may do what
| To | Intersect Treasury Contracts 2 | Intersect Treasury Contracts 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Start a project: Move money to the vendor contract with a payment schedule. | 1 of 3 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 5 Intersect Admin + 2 of 6 Trusted Entities | 1 of 2 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 3 Intersect Admins + 2 of 5 External Oversight Committee |
| Pause a payment: Hold back a scheduled payment, for example while evidence is missing. | 1 of 3 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 5 Intersect Admin | 1 of 2 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 3 Intersect Admins |
| Resume a payment: Let a paused payment be claimed again. | 1 of 3 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 5 Intersect Admin | 1 of 2 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 3 Intersect Admins |
| Change a project: Change its schedule or take money back. The vendor must sign too. | 1 of 3 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 5 Intersect Admin + 2 of 6 Trusted Entities | 1 of 2 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 3 Intersect Admins + 2 of 5 External Oversight Committee |
| Send money elsewhere: Pay from the contract to any address, outside a project. | 2 of 3 Intersect Leadership + 2 of 5 Intersect Admin + 3 of 6 Trusted Entities | both of Intersect Leadership + 2 of 3 Intersect Admins + 3 of 5 External Oversight Committee |
| Return money early: Give money back to the Cardano treasury before the contract expires. | 1 of 5 Intersect Admin + 1 of 3 Intersect Leadership | 1 of 3 Intersect Admins + 1 of 2 Intersect Leadership |
| Rearrange the contract’s money: Split or merge its pots. Nothing leaves the contract. | 2 of 5 Intersect Admins + 3 of 6 Trusted Entities | 2 of 3 Intersect Admins + 3 of 5 External Oversight Committee |