Stake pool operators are one of Cardano’s three governance bodies, next to DReps and the Constitutional Committee. Unlike DRep votes, a pool vote cannot be cast on DRepTalk: it must be signed with your pool cold key, which no browser wallet can do. This guide covers what your vote counts on, what happens when you do not vote, and where to actually cast it.
What your pool votes on
An SPO vote is counted on these governance action types:
- Motions of no confidence in the Constitutional Committee
- Constitutional Committee changes (adding or removing members, changing thresholds)
- Hard fork initiations
- Protocol parameter changes that touch security-relevant parameters
- Info actions, where votes are recorded as a signal but there is no threshold to meet
Treasury withdrawals, ordinary parameter changes, and constitution updates are decided by DReps and the Constitutional Committee without an SPO vote. Your pool’s voting power is the stake delegated to it. An action passes the SPO body when the Yes stake, measured against Yes plus No, meets the threshold for that action type. The No side includes the stake of pools that did not vote (see below), while abstaining stake is left out of the calculation.
Not voting is also a vote
Since the Plomin hard fork, a pool that does not vote on an action is counted as a No vote, not as absent. There are two exceptions, both controlled by where your pool’s reward account delegates its own voting power:
- Reward account delegated to the predefined Abstain DRep: your missing vote counts as Abstain, so your stake is taken out of the calculation instead of dragging the Yes ratio down.
- Reward account delegated to the predefined No confidence DRep: your missing vote counts as Yes on motions of no confidence, and No on everything else.
Hard fork initiations are the exception to the exceptions. A pool that does not vote on a hard fork is always counted as No, regardless of how the reward account delegates. If you want a hard fork to happen, you have to actively vote Yes.
Which key signs
A pool vote is witnessed by your pool cold key, the same key that signs pool certificates. Keep the usual discipline: build the vote on an online machine, sign on your air-gapped setup. Your Calidus key cannot cast votes. It only signs you in to sites like DRepTalk, see Signing in.
Where to cast your vote
- The SPO governance guide on the Cardano Developer Portal walks through the full flow with
cardano-cli, including the air-gapped signing step. - The SPO Scripts collection wraps the same flow in two commands (
24a_genVote.shand24b_regVote.sh) and also supports hardware wallets. - The Cardano Foundation voting tool helps you prepare the vote and its metadata in the browser and supports SPO voters.
Add a rationale
Like a DRep vote, a pool vote can carry a link to a rationale document explaining your decision. The tools above let you attach one when you build the vote. It is worth the extra step: your rationale is shown next to your vote on DRepTalk and helps delegators understand how your pool participates. What makes a rationale useful is covered in Writing a vote rationale, the format is the same for every voter role.
Your vote on DRepTalk
Once your vote is on-chain, DRepTalk picks it up automatically: it appears on the action’s Votes tab with your pool name.
One limit applies to the rationale text: DRepTalk fetches rationale documents from the chain only for voters with at least 10,000 ada of voting weight. A pool with less voted stake still gets its vote listed, marked Rationale unavailable instead of the text. The same label shows while a linked document cannot be read. Since a pool vote is always cast outside DRepTalk, there is no other path for it. Sign in as an SPO with your Calidus key to also join the discussion under each action, before or after voting.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cast my pool's vote on DRepTalk?
No. A pool vote needs the pool cold key, so you cast it with your pool tooling and DRepTalk lists it afterwards.
What happens if my pool does not vote?
It counts as No, unless the pool's reward account delegates to the Abstain or the No confidence DRep. On a hard fork initiation a missing vote is always No.
Why is my rationale not shown next to my pool's vote?
DRepTalk reads rationale documents only for voters with at least 10,000 ada of voting weight. Below that the vote shows Rationale unavailable.
Do SPOs vote on treasury withdrawals?
No. Treasury withdrawals are decided by DReps and the Constitutional Committee.