Voting underway to confirm the new Constitutional Committee

5 min

One of the most important governance actions is now on chain: replacing the Interim Constitutional Committee with the newly elected Committee.

This may sound procedural, but its implications for Cardano’s ability to function as a self-governing network are significant. The following looks at what’s happening, why it matters, and what it would mean if this vote didn’t pass.

Background

The Interim Constitutional Committee (ICC) was always meant to be temporary, put in place at the earliest point in Cardano’s governance, with seats allocated to Intersect, founding entities, and three community-elected members. Back in May, a new community-led election began for the Constitutional Committee (CC). Candidates put themselves forward, and then DReps voted to fill all seven seats with staggered term lengths, ensuring continuity over time.

The proposal to update the Constitutional Committee will confirm the following members:

You can read more about the CC election process and review final results here.

Following the results of the CC election process, the members above need to be ratified and enacted on-chain. This governance action is the final step in formally transitioning from the ICC to a fully community-elected CC, and must be done before the ICC’s term ends on September 6th (end of Epoch 580).

The Constitutional Committee is a critical component of Cardano’s governance model’s checks and balances. Most governance actions, like treasury withdrawals and protocol parameter updates, cannot be enacted without CC approval.

Without this update passing, we’d enter a period where:

  • The current serving ICC expires.
  • There’s no active CC.
  • Cardano’s governance would enter a state of no-confidence and actions requiring CC approval couldn’t be processed until a future vote successfully establishes a new CC.

As you would expect, Cardano would continue to remain secure and operational, but decision-making in governance would hit a temporary roadblock.

Thresholds needed

For the governance action to pass, we need approval by 67% of active voting stake represented by DReps and 51% from Stake Pool Operators.

Cardano’s governance is currently thriving, with over 40 governance actions currently live, and votes will continue to be valid and count as we seek to approve the update to the committee and confirm the new seven members.

How can we keep governance healthy?

Strong governance relies on our participation as much as on tools and committees. This means knowing what’s on-chain, understanding how it affects you, and recognizing what happens if thresholds are not met. It means feeling confident enough to cast a vote,  even if that vote is “no” or “abstain”—and understanding that participation isn’t just symbolic. This is how we prevent gaps in decision-making that could stall progress.

The more each of us contributes, the stronger and more resilient Cardano’s governance becomes.

Making your choice

This isn’t about telling anyone how to vote, but ensuring the community has what it needs to make informed, deliberate choices.

Updating the Constitutional Committee is about continuity and, in this case, is the bridge from interim oversight to a fully elected, community-backed system.

If you’re a DRep or SPO, your participation is crucial.

  • Voting “yes” moves us forward.
  • Voting “no” expresses concerns about the members selected by participating DReps and/or the election process itself.
  • Abstaining signals neutrality.

But not voting at all risks leaving Cardano without an active CC, something we need to weigh carefully.