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Livepeer is a protocol governed by its token holders. As an orchestrator, your vote carries weight proportional to your total stake — including the delegated LPT entrusted to you by your delegators. When you vote on a proposal, you are voting on their behalf as well as your own. Use this page to follow active proposals, cast a vote with livepeer_cli, and verify the result on Explorer.

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How Livepeer governance works

Protocol changes are proposed through Livepeer Improvement Proposals (LIPs). A LIP changes protocol parameters such as inflation floors or treasury allocation, and it introduces features such as remote signers, AI pipeline support, or clearinghouse architecture. The process follows a defined path: 
Author drafts LIP on GitHub (livepeer/LIPs repository)
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Community discussion in Livepeer Forum + Discord
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Foundation or community creates on-chain poll via Explorer
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Voting window opens — orchestrators cast votes on-chain
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Outcome determined by stake-weighted vote count
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Accepted LIPs are implemented in go-livepeer and protocol contracts
Governance is stake-weighted. A vote from an orchestrator with 100,000 LPT total stake carries far more weight than one with 1,000 LPT. Delegators represented by their orchestrator’s vote care about governance participation for the same reason.

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Recent LIPs affecting orchestrators

The following LIPs have changed conditions for active orchestrators since 2024: Check github.com/livepeer/LIPs for the complete, versioned proposal history.

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Where to follow governance

Stay informed before you vote. Proposals change economic conditions — voting without context is a governance risk.

Explorer Voting

Active and past on-chain polls. Find poll contract addresses here.

Livepeer Forum

Where LIPs are discussed before going on-chain. Core governance deliberation happens here.

LIPs Repository

Versioned proposal text, rationale, and specification for every LIP.
The #governance channel on the Livepeer Discord is the fastest-moving discussion space. For formal, searchable, long-form governance discussion, the Forum is the primary venue.

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How to vote

Voting requires your orchestrator node to be running. livepeer_cli signs through your local node, so private keys stay on the node.

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Voting with a remote key

Nodes using a remote signer or keystore on a separate machine point livepeer_cli at the remote HTTP address:
Vote through a remote node
livepeer_cli -http <orchestrator-ip>:7935
The CLI connects to the node over HTTP and the node signs the transaction locally using its loaded keystore. Private keys stay on the node.

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Governance weight and your delegators

Your vote weight is your total stake — self-bonded LPT plus all delegated LPT. When you vote Yes, all that stake counts as Yes. Your delegators have no separate vote in this system unless they undelegate and vote independently from their own orchestrator node. This is part of the implicit trust relationship with delegators:
  • Delegators choose you based partly on your governance participation and positions
  • Voting publicly on major proposals builds reputation with stake-focused delegators
  • Some orchestrators announce their voting intentions on the Forum or Discord before casting, inviting delegator feedback
Abstaining carries no protocol penalty. It removes your stake weight from governance decisions that affect the protocol you operate, including parameters that directly affect your earnings.

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Gas costs for voting

Voting is an Arbitrum transaction. Requirements: Ensure your orchestrator wallet has ETH on Arbitrum before voting. The same ETH balance you maintain for reward calls and ticket redemption covers voting transactions.

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Summary

  1. Find the poll at explorer.livepeer.org/voting
  2. Copy the poll contract address
  3. Read the full LIP on github.com/livepeer/LIPs and follow the Forum discussion
  4. Ensure your node is running and has ETH on Arbitrum
  5. Run livepeer_cli → “Vote on a poll” → paste address → choose 0 (Yes) or 1 (No)
  6. Confirm the transaction, wait for confirmation
  7. Verify your vote on Explorer
Missing a vote carries no protocol penalty. Your stake is excluded from both sides of the tally. For close proposals, high-stake orchestrator abstention often determines the outcome.You cannot vote after the poll’s voting window closes. Check the open/close dates on Explorer for each poll.
Delegators bonded to you are represented by your vote in the current governance model. Independent voting requires bonding to their own orchestrator address or unbonding first.This is by design: delegating LPT to an orchestrator is a delegation of governance participation as well as stake. Choosing an orchestrator whose governance positions align with your own is part of due diligence for delegators.

LPT Governance Overview

The full governance model — LIP lifecycle, voting mechanics, and protocol parameters governed by token holders.

Getting Delegates

How governance participation and reputation affect your ability to attract delegators.

Livepeer Explorer — Voting

Browse all active and past proposals.

Livepeer LIPs on GitHub

Full versioned history of all Livepeer Improvement Proposals.
Last modified on March 16, 2026