What is quorum in DAO voting?

Quorum is the minimum participation required before a vote can produce a valid decision. In a DAO, the threshold often measures eligible voting power rather than the number of people who participate.

A majority rule determines which option wins; quorum determines whether participation is sufficient. For, against and abstain votes need not count the same way in every system. The reference supply or snapshot used to set the threshold can matter too.

Example

Suppose a hypothetical vote requires 1,000 units for quorum and more than half of decisive votes in favor. Both for and against votes count toward participation. A result of 600 for and 200 against gives 75% support, but only 800 participating units. Quorum is not met, so the approval percentage alone cannot establish that the proposal passed.

Another system might count only for and abstain votes toward its threshold. The example is not a universal DAO rule: inspect the actual proposal’s counting definition before applying it.

Our DAO governance analysis connects quorum to concentrated voting power and execution authority through worked examples.