When a new contributor joins a Solana DAO, the first confusion is rarely "how do I vote?" It is "who am I in this system?" The same person might submit proposals, hold delegated voting power, and sign treasury transactions — or they might do none of those things while still attending every council call.

This guide names five roles, explains what each can do on-chain, and notes where small DAOs commonly blur the lines.

1. Proposer

A proposer drafts and submits governance proposals. On Realms, not every token holder can propose by default — some realms restrict proposal creation to council members or wallets above a token threshold.

Check for your DAO: open your realm settings and look for "who can create proposals." If the answer is "council only," your community moderators are not proposers unless they hold a council seat.

2. Voter

A voter casts yes/no/abstain on active proposals. Voting power typically comes from token balance, but vote escrow and locked positions can change the weight.

Voters do not automatically execute approved proposals. Passing a vote is step one; someone else must carry out the instructions.

3. Delegate

Delegates receive voting power from wallets that prefer not to vote directly. Delegation is revocable and visible in governance dashboards. A delegate votes on behalf of delegators but usually cannot propose or sign unless they also hold those permissions separately.

Common pitfall: a DAO lists "delegates" in its Discord roles, but on-chain delegation is empty because holders never completed the delegation transaction.

4. Council member

Council seats exist in many realms as a faster lane for operational decisions — smaller quorum, shorter voting period, or veto power over community proposals. Council membership is defined in realm configuration, not in your off-chain org chart.

5. Executor / signer

After a proposal passes and any cooldown ends, an executor submits the transaction that carries out the approved instructions. This is often a multisig signer who may never have voted on the proposal itself.

Treasury mistakes frequently happen here: the vote passed, but the wrong signer attempts execution, or the signer uses an outdated recipient address from an earlier draft.

Role overlap table

Use this as a starting template. Fill in names for your DAO.

  • Proposer: can submit proposals — yes/no per wallet
  • Voter: holds voting power — token, delegated, or escrowed
  • Delegate: votes for others — separate from proposer status
  • Council: elevated lane — check realm config
  • Signer: executes approved txs — multisig member

Next steps

Map your team's wallets against this table before your next charter vote. If the same name appears in three columns, document whether that overlap is intentional. For a facilitated walkthrough, see our Voting Roles Briefing or browse related glossary entries.