Voting for the committee elections opens Monday, October 27, 2025, at noon UTC. To be considered as an eligible voter, you must have become a paid member by noon UTC on Monday, October 27, 2025. The voting period will be open until noon UTC on November 7, 2025.

Why your vote is important

Intersect’s committees and supporting working groups play a vital role in shaping Cardano’s evolution. Together, they identify key challenges and opportunities across the ecosystem and collaborate to propose solutions for the community to consider.

Bringing together expertise from across Cardano, these groups provide technical guidance, scrutinize budgets, strengthen governance practices, support open-source development, and foster community growth. From guiding core development to enhancing member engagement, each committee helps ensure that Cardano’s progress remains transparent, accountable, and driven by its members.

Election Overview: Committees and Seats

Seven standing committees report to a steering committee, each with a specific mission. For more information, refer to the Intersect knowledge base.

A tremendous number of candidates have applied, a total of 98 people have stood up, and we thank them for their participation. Now the focus shifts to our members, who must select which Intersect committees they would like to serve on.

Timeline

The voting period will run from October 27 to November 7, 2025 (noon UTC), followed by an audit phase from November 7 to November 12 to validate the results. Final results will be announced on November 14. Be sure to cast your vote before the deadline to make your voice count.

How to vote in the election?

Voting is open to all eligible Intersect members. Voting will open on October 27 at noon UTC. The voting process is: 

1. Log in to the Intersect members’ dashboard
2. Navigate to the ‘Voting events’ section, in the ‘open’ page
3. Select the committee you want to vote for
4. Review and select your preferred candidates by the closing date
5. A third party will audit the votes 
6. Intersect will announce the results.

Eligibility rules

• General: Only those who have been members for at least three months before the start of voting, or who have verified their membership, are eligible to vote.
• Verification is not needed for members (individual or enterprise) who joined before July 27, 2025, at noon UTC.
• Recent members who joined after noon UTC, July 27 and before October 27 at noon UTC can get verified at any time before voting ends.
• Members must join before October 27 at noon UTC to be eligible to vote.

If the last two items apply to you, you will see a ‘Verify Identity’ option on your main dashboard. Members will be able to choose between two methods of verification:

• Standard ID verification: Use a government-issued ID to confirm your identity through Sumsub, our trusted KYC provider
• Decentralized ID verification (DID): Verify your identity using our Decentralized Identity solution powered by Socious, an Enterprise Founding Member.

This process ensures fair and secure participation in elections while providing members with the flexibility to choose how to verify their identity.

Voting tutorial

Go to the members’ dashboard to click the ‘Voting’ option in the left-hand menu or select ‘Participate in voting’ on the top right-hand card. 

Next, click the ‘Open’ tab to see the list of committees:

Click ‘View details and vote:

Browse through the profiles and choose the individuals you believe are the best fit for the committee. To learn more about each candidate, click ‘Read more’. This will show you their complete application and background information to help you make an informed decision.

Once you've reviewed the candidates and decided, click the ‘Vote’ button next to each one you'd like to support.

Each committee has a specific number of voting seats available, and you can select up to that number of candidates. For example, if a committee has five open seats, you can vote for up to five candidates.

Why your participation matters now more than ever

Intersect empowers a distributed network of builders and contributors to share in the belief that every voice holds value and that building together is stronger. This principle isn't just our mission statement; it's the foundation of everything we're building together.

You are not just a member; you are a co-owner of Intersect and Cardano's destiny. Your voice matters!