diff --git a/internal/git/localrepo/refs.go b/internal/git/localrepo/refs.go
index 224bd407c585b5869e780deba5cb3eef623a24df..d88f95911ade385fadc63f30ffbc91f2928816a8 100644
--- a/internal/git/localrepo/refs.go
+++ b/internal/git/localrepo/refs.go
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ func (repo *Repo) GetDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context) (git.ReferenceName, erro
 		return branches[0].Name, nil
 	}
 
-	headReference, err := repo.headReference(ctx)
+	headReference, err := repo.HeadReference(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
@@ -371,7 +371,8 @@ func (repo *Repo) GetDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context) (git.ReferenceName, erro
 	return branches[0].Name, nil
 }
 
-func (repo *Repo) headReference(ctx context.Context) (git.ReferenceName, error) {
+// HeadReference returns the current value of HEAD.
+func (repo *Repo) HeadReference(ctx context.Context) (git.ReferenceName, error) {
 	cmd, err := repo.Exec(ctx, git.Command{
 		Name: "symbolic-ref",
 		Args: []string{"HEAD"},
diff --git a/internal/git/localrepo/refs_test.go b/internal/git/localrepo/refs_test.go
index da98d5cba22e53488d79371efadeaeebab305dfd..df9cb9bca092fc4c732469b3d335662553973d8a 100644
--- a/internal/git/localrepo/refs_test.go
+++ b/internal/git/localrepo/refs_test.go
@@ -545,6 +545,22 @@ func TestRepo_SetDefaultBranch(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRepo_HeadReference(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := testhelper.Context(t)
+	_, repo, _ := setupRepo(t)
+
+	referenceName, err := repo.HeadReference(ctx)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, git.DefaultRef, referenceName)
+
+	newDefaultBranch := git.ReferenceName("refs/heads/non-existent")
+	require.NoError(t, repo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, &transaction.MockManager{}, newDefaultBranch))
+
+	referenceName, err = repo.HeadReference(ctx)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, newDefaultBranch, referenceName)
+}
+
 type blockingManager struct {
 	ch chan struct{}
 }
diff --git a/internal/git/localrepo/remote_extra_test.go b/internal/git/localrepo/remote_extra_test.go
index 69772479c09d6ecc17d23c5686bf4066d294a1f7..5435abdc969be81c838d5752c64aabf9b9ae1a67 100644
--- a/internal/git/localrepo/remote_extra_test.go
+++ b/internal/git/localrepo/remote_extra_test.go
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ func TestRepo_FetchInternal(t *testing.T) {
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	}, testserver.WithGitCommandFactory(protocolDetectingFactory))
 
diff --git a/internal/git/remoterepo/testhelper_test.go b/internal/git/remoterepo/testhelper_test.go
index 9e964548728dd084ede779ccfe4538b67275cf7a..845a5fc6dc96d1a942bdfa375a3f0a74bef779df 100644
--- a/internal/git/remoterepo/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/git/remoterepo/testhelper_test.go
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ func setupGitalyServer(t *testing.T) config.Cfg {
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterCommitServiceServer(srv, commit.NewServer(
 			deps.GetCfg(),
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/partition_manager.go b/internal/gitaly/partition_manager.go
index 95650a405b01e4dfecc7085fedaebe5b06d3db98..a558dd9e4fd5f13fe2d5e3fb141e14aa46f7847c 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/partition_manager.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/partition_manager.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	repo "gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/repository"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/config"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/storage"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/transaction"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/helper/perm"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/safe"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/structerr"
@@ -27,6 +28,8 @@ var ErrPartitionManagerStopped = errors.New("partition manager stopped")
 type PartitionManager struct {
 	// storages are the storages configured in this Gitaly server. The map is keyed by the storage name.
 	storages map[string]*storageManager
+	// voteManager casts transactional votes to Praefect.
+	voteManager transaction.Manager
 }
 
 // storageManager represents a single storage.
@@ -108,7 +111,7 @@ func (ptn *partition) stop() {
 }
 
 // NewPartitionManager returns a new PartitionManager.
-func NewPartitionManager(configuredStorages []config.Storage, localRepoFactory localrepo.Factory, logger logrus.FieldLogger) (*PartitionManager, error) {
+func NewPartitionManager(configuredStorages []config.Storage, localRepoFactory localrepo.Factory, logger logrus.FieldLogger, voteManager transaction.Manager) (*PartitionManager, error) {
 	storages := make(map[string]*storageManager, len(configuredStorages))
 	for _, storage := range configuredStorages {
 		repoFactory, err := localRepoFactory.ScopeByStorage(storage.Name)
@@ -151,7 +154,10 @@ func NewPartitionManager(configuredStorages []config.Storage, localRepoFactory l
 		}
 	}
 
-	return &PartitionManager{storages: storages}, nil
+	return &PartitionManager{
+		storages:    storages,
+		voteManager: voteManager,
+	}, nil
 }
 
 func stagingDirectoryPath(storagePath string) string {
@@ -191,7 +197,7 @@ func (pm *PartitionManager) Begin(ctx context.Context, repo repo.GitRepo) (*Tran
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("create staging directory: %w", err)
 			}
 
-			mgr := NewTransactionManager(storageMgr.database, storageMgr.path, relativePath, stagingDir, storageMgr.repoFactory, storageMgr.transactionFinalizerFactory(ptn))
+			mgr := NewTransactionManager(storageMgr.database, storageMgr.path, relativePath, stagingDir, storageMgr.repoFactory, storageMgr.transactionFinalizerFactory(ptn), pm.voteManager)
 			ptn.transactionManager = mgr
 
 			storageMgr.partitions[relativePath] = ptn
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/partition_manager_test.go b/internal/gitaly/partition_manager_test.go
index 183cf813f699229f8613a34efede48033008b47c..758ac740b9bd274edc8f1be3b183131658caae6d 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/partition_manager_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/partition_manager_test.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/localrepo"
 	repo "gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/repository"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/config"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/transaction"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/helper/perm"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/structerr"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/testhelper"
@@ -563,7 +564,7 @@ func TestPartitionManager(t *testing.T) {
 				)
 			}
 
-			partitionManager, err := NewPartitionManager(cfg.Storages, localRepoFactory, logrus.StandardLogger())
+			partitionManager, err := NewPartitionManager(cfg.Storages, localRepoFactory, logrus.StandardLogger(), &transaction.MockManager{})
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			defer func() {
 				partitionManager.Stop()
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/blob/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/blob/testhelper_test.go
index eb34361fee8a14dc2ec664e38c8e04ba9aad5ce0..da0ee1673f6a818e45de14decc03cc9996cecd8e 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/blob/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/blob/testhelper_test.go
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ func setup(tb testing.TB, ctx context.Context) (config.Cfg, gitalypb.BlobService
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	})
 	cfg.SocketPath = addr
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/cleanup/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/cleanup/testhelper_test.go
index 69204c6c1f85ee624feb532bc4897db4c0b64b09..b198d8e24978f7ce81a97cc79f01951782344357 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/cleanup/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/cleanup/testhelper_test.go
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ func runCleanupServiceServer(t *testing.T, cfg config.Cfg) string {
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	})
 }
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/commit/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/commit/testhelper_test.go
index 9428bddd8b811a01c202aa23afa8b9b952ae5bc3..7e5f69f272acea965a3c5162ea754976a0c43e96 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/commit/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/commit/testhelper_test.go
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ func startTestServices(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg, opts ...testserver.GitalyS
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	}, opts...)
 }
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/conflicts/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/conflicts/testhelper_test.go
index 848a4b132c4bf0d599eb2789d0b28efa01748c63..730d64651ef83a20d9248ffe5ba46e7e94e10633 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/conflicts/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/conflicts/testhelper_test.go
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ func runConflictsServer(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg, hookManager hook.Manager)
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterSSHServiceServer(srv, ssh.NewServer(
 			deps.GetLocator(),
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/diff/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/diff/testhelper_test.go
index 234aae21b91d57c95efe2a309f9d92598e6fbcb2..894876641c8e03a8654ff3525ea49fb665190eae 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/diff/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/diff/testhelper_test.go
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ func setupDiffServiceWithoutRepo(tb testing.TB, opt ...testserver.GitalyServerOp
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	}, opt...)
 	cfg.SocketPath = addr
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/hook/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/hook/testhelper_test.go
index f6ab54d5a64bd0c266d3db23783c2579795427ca..0ae9e57348e73c487737a025b420f679facc6488 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/hook/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/hook/testhelper_test.go
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ func runHooksServer(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg, opts []serverOption, serverOp
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	}, serverOpts...)
 }
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/objectpool/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/objectpool/testhelper_test.go
index 6e9a1133a8ae15c11532da322e5b62fbe1d3c471..26c77eef5b2b65f9668fc950e0ff169f19b1b72b 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/objectpool/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/objectpool/testhelper_test.go
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ func runObjectPoolServer(t *testing.T, cfg config.Cfg, locator storage.Locator,
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	}, append(opts, testserver.WithLocator(locator), testserver.WithLogger(logger))...)
 }
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/operations/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/operations/testhelper_test.go
index 5549739e8bbb965b92160371f7b059a834e36071..7a03dc9f02c69175d09681dfac04a9b9da0969ce 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/operations/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/operations/testhelper_test.go
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ func runOperationServiceServer(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg, options ...testser
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterRefServiceServer(srv, ref.NewServer(
 			deps.GetLocator(),
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/ref/delete_refs_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/ref/delete_refs_test.go
index 831c21663de63c9112980914c39247f90485941f..aa6141489475357a79aa153108cf4adc9613dfb9 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/ref/delete_refs_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/ref/delete_refs_test.go
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ func TestDeleteRefs_transaction(t *testing.T) {
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterHookServiceServer(srv, hookservice.NewServer(deps.GetHookManager(), deps.GetGitCmdFactory(), deps.GetPackObjectsCache(), deps.GetPackObjectsConcurrencyTracker(), deps.GetPackObjectsLimiter()))
 	}, testserver.WithTransactionManager(txManager))
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/ref/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/ref/testhelper_test.go
index c4d72d41870e16506a7ee21c90464951b82afb1b..31edcfeeed0ad53e3b34804883a5684ff5d05ce0 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/ref/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/ref/testhelper_test.go
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ func runRefServiceServer(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg) string {
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	})
 }
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/remote/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/remote/testhelper_test.go
index d1c03eeca4278a9dace287f0c74c09f9bb94309b..e132da125afe96f994e3bd2856a565a428eb20c8 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/remote/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/remote/testhelper_test.go
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ func setupRemoteService(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, opts ...testserver.Gi
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 	}, opts...)
 	cfg.SocketPath = addr
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/remote/update_remote_mirror_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/remote/update_remote_mirror_test.go
index 897f539858b9c9eaa8a4c69e3268df82b1dd3f11..7eada23e162bea225c74fe7e986313e537197ba0 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/remote/update_remote_mirror_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/remote/update_remote_mirror_test.go
@@ -589,6 +589,7 @@ func TestUpdateRemoteMirror(t *testing.T) {
 					deps.GetConnsPool(),
 					deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 					deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+					deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 				))
 			})
 			cfg.SocketPath = addr
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/repository/server.go b/internal/gitaly/service/repository/server.go
index 6b3f8821df9111a0580be47941779805134987dd..3f5176832d3cc9d0e2f9482ab872990ab67dd036 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/repository/server.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/repository/server.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/quarantine"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/repository"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git2go"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/config"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/storage"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/transaction"
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ type server struct {
 	catfileCache        catfile.Cache
 	git2goExecutor      *git2go.Executor
 	housekeepingManager housekeeping.Manager
+	partitionManager    *gitaly.PartitionManager
 
 	licenseCache *unarycache.Cache[git.ObjectID, *gitalypb.FindLicenseResponse]
 }
@@ -44,6 +46,7 @@ func NewServer(
 	connsPool *client.Pool,
 	git2goExecutor *git2go.Executor,
 	housekeepingManager housekeeping.Manager,
+	partitionManager *gitaly.PartitionManager,
 ) gitalypb.RepositoryServiceServer {
 	return &server{
 		locator:             locator,
@@ -55,6 +58,7 @@ func NewServer(
 		catfileCache:        catfileCache,
 		git2goExecutor:      git2goExecutor,
 		housekeepingManager: housekeepingManager,
+		partitionManager:    partitionManager,
 
 		licenseCache: newLicenseCache(),
 	}
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/repository/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/repository/testhelper_test.go
index a114a9b917002ad8e82a1a10515dccd9c780efdf..cb7d2f0957c91f2801987ebb15edd680c7f5a55c 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/repository/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/repository/testhelper_test.go
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ func runRepositoryService(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg, opts ...testserver.Gita
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterHookServiceServer(srv, hookservice.NewServer(deps.GetHookManager(), deps.GetGitCmdFactory(), deps.GetPackObjectsCache(), deps.GetPackObjectsConcurrencyTracker(), deps.GetPackObjectsLimiter()))
 		gitalypb.RegisterRemoteServiceServer(srv, remote.NewServer(
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/repository/write_ref.go b/internal/gitaly/service/repository/write_ref.go
index eeb32561c8bb9eac75638b2611017d4e065f78e2..b37e8d1a393b09a434f79fdd3b22eed8da5d3c67 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/repository/write_ref.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/repository/write_ref.go
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/localrepo"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/updateref"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/service"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/txutil"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/structerr"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/proto/go/gitalypb"
 )
@@ -17,8 +19,15 @@ func (s *server) WriteRef(ctx context.Context, req *gitalypb.WriteRefRequest) (*
 	if err := validateWriteRefRequest(req); err != nil {
 		return nil, structerr.NewInvalidArgument("%w", err)
 	}
-	if err := s.writeRef(ctx, req); err != nil {
-		return nil, structerr.NewInternal("%w", err)
+
+	if s.partitionManager != nil {
+		if err := s.writeRefWAL(ctx, req); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	} else {
+		if err := s.writeRef(ctx, req); err != nil {
+			return nil, structerr.NewInternal("%w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return &gitalypb.WriteRefResponse{}, nil
@@ -38,7 +47,30 @@ func (s *server) writeRef(ctx context.Context, req *gitalypb.WriteRefRequest) er
 	return updateRef(ctx, repo, req)
 }
 
-func updateRef(ctx context.Context, repo *localrepo.Repo, req *gitalypb.WriteRefRequest) (returnedErr error) {
+func (s *server) writeRefWAL(ctx context.Context, req *gitalypb.WriteRefRequest) error {
+	tx, err := s.partitionManager.Begin(ctx, req.GetRepository())
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("begin: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer txutil.LogRollback(ctx, tx)
+
+	if string(req.Ref) == "HEAD" {
+		tx.SetDefaultBranch(git.ReferenceName(req.GetRevision()))
+	} else {
+		oldOID, newOID, err := resolveObjectIDs(ctx, s.localrepo(req.GetRepository()), req)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		tx.UpdateReferences(gitaly.ReferenceUpdates{
+			git.ReferenceName(req.GetRef()): {Force: oldOID == "", OldOID: oldOID, NewOID: newOID},
+		})
+	}
+
+	return tx.Commit(ctx)
+}
+
+func resolveObjectIDs(ctx context.Context, repo *localrepo.Repo, req *gitalypb.WriteRefRequest) (git.ObjectID, git.ObjectID, error) {
 	var newObjectID git.ObjectID
 	if git.ObjectHashSHA1.IsZeroOID(git.ObjectID(req.GetRevision())) {
 		// Passing the all-zeroes object ID as new value means that we should delete the
@@ -52,7 +84,7 @@ func updateRef(ctx context.Context, repo *localrepo.Repo, req *gitalypb.WriteRef
 		var err error
 		newObjectID, err = repo.ResolveRevision(ctx, git.Revision(req.GetRevision())+"^{object}")
 		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("resolving new revision: %w", err)
+			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("resolving new revision: %w", err)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -66,11 +98,20 @@ func updateRef(ctx context.Context, repo *localrepo.Repo, req *gitalypb.WriteRef
 			var err error
 			oldObjectID, err = repo.ResolveRevision(ctx, git.Revision(req.GetOldRevision())+"^{object}")
 			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("resolving old revision: %w", err)
+				return "", "", fmt.Errorf("resolving old revision: %w", err)
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
+	return oldObjectID, newObjectID, nil
+}
+
+func updateRef(ctx context.Context, repo *localrepo.Repo, req *gitalypb.WriteRefRequest) (returnedErr error) {
+	oldObjectID, newObjectID, err := resolveObjectIDs(ctx, repo, req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	u, err := updateref.New(ctx, repo)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error when running creating new updater: %w", err)
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/setup/register.go b/internal/gitaly/service/setup/register.go
index 50f0482c19c64de2e63a7c6aa08a3453c01a81db..93e6cb7749fa468dc9bbdfe3cbb4b236d6f523f1 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/setup/register.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/setup/register.go
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ func RegisterAll(srv *grpc.Server, deps *service.Dependencies) {
 		deps.GetConnsPool(),
 		deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 		deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+		deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 	))
 	gitalypb.RegisterSSHServiceServer(srv, ssh.NewServer(
 		deps.GetLocator(),
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/smarthttp/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/smarthttp/testhelper_test.go
index 124ff76fcc5b2128bdb6d37d9a6b623ca55437d1..b1b31b45172c963bcfd5b50344184f553dae2228 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/smarthttp/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/smarthttp/testhelper_test.go
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ func startSmartHTTPServerWithOptions(t *testing.T, cfg config.Cfg, opts []Server
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterObjectPoolServiceServer(srv, objectpool.NewServer(
 			deps.GetLocator(),
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/service/ssh/testhelper_test.go b/internal/gitaly/service/ssh/testhelper_test.go
index c91b4a991909a09b6fc75afeaba9670cdce0c3fa..4c26bf62643a8b14ae50765557892d54e23c4bfa 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/service/ssh/testhelper_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/service/ssh/testhelper_test.go
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ func startSSHServerWithOptions(t *testing.T, cfg config.Cfg, opts []ServerOpt, s
 			deps.GetConnsPool(),
 			deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 			deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+			deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 		))
 		gitalypb.RegisterObjectPoolServiceServer(srv, objectpool.NewServer(
 			deps.GetLocator(),
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager.go b/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager.go
index 4e2060dcf8b7a5084568335b76aeb8e7551717ef..4573f12b3165ff7fbe4226bdd15f4e112daba6a6 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/helper/perm"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/safe"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/structerr"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/transaction/voting"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/proto/go/gitalypb"
 	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
@@ -179,6 +180,10 @@ type Transaction struct {
 	defaultBranchUpdate      *DefaultBranchUpdate
 	customHooksUpdate        *CustomHooksUpdate
 	deleteRepository         bool
+	// requestContext is the context from goroutine that begun the transaction. This is the context that
+	// contains Praefect's transaction information if it exists. It's only capture the transaction
+	// information into the TransactionManager and should not be used for anything else.
+	requestContext context.Context
 }
 
 // Begin opens a new transaction. The caller must call either Commit or Rollback to release
@@ -212,7 +217,8 @@ func (mgr *TransactionManager) Begin(ctx context.Context) (_ *Transaction, retur
 			CustomHookIndex: mgr.customHookIndex,
 			CustomHookPath:  customHookPathForLogIndex(mgr.repositoryPath, mgr.customHookIndex),
 		},
-		finished: make(chan struct{}),
+		finished:       make(chan struct{}),
+		requestContext: ctx,
 	}
 
 	// If there are no custom hooks stored through the WAL yet, then default to the custom hooks
@@ -473,6 +479,9 @@ type TransactionManager struct {
 	// the repository. It's keyed by the log index the transaction is waiting to be applied and the
 	// value is the resultChannel that is waiting the result.
 	awaitingTransactions map[LogIndex]resultChannel
+
+	// voteManager casts transactional votes to Praefect.
+	voteManager transaction.Manager
 }
 
 // repository is the localrepo interface used by TransactionManager.
@@ -484,10 +493,11 @@ type repository interface {
 	Quarantine(string) (*localrepo.Repo, error)
 	WalkUnreachableObjects(context.Context, io.Reader, io.Writer) error
 	PackObjects(context.Context, io.Reader, io.Writer) error
+	HeadReference(context.Context) (git.ReferenceName, error)
 }
 
 // NewTransactionManager returns a new TransactionManager for the given repository.
-func NewTransactionManager(db *badger.DB, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir string, repositoryFactory localrepo.StorageScopedFactory, transactionFinalizer func()) *TransactionManager {
+func NewTransactionManager(db *badger.DB, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir string, repositoryFactory localrepo.StorageScopedFactory, transactionFinalizer func(), voteManager transaction.Manager) *TransactionManager {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	return &TransactionManager{
 		ctx:                  ctx,
@@ -505,6 +515,7 @@ func NewTransactionManager(db *badger.DB, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir
 		stagingDirectory:     stagingDir,
 		transactionFinalizer: transactionFinalizer,
 		awaitingTransactions: make(map[LogIndex]resultChannel),
+		voteManager:          voteManager,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -684,7 +695,7 @@ func (mgr *TransactionManager) Run() (returnedErr error) {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		if err := mgr.processTransaction(); err != nil {
+		if err := mgr.processTransaction(mgr.ctx); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("process transaction: %w", err)
 		}
 	}
@@ -692,7 +703,7 @@ func (mgr *TransactionManager) Run() (returnedErr error) {
 
 // processTransaction waits for a transaction and processes it by verifying and
 // logging it.
-func (mgr *TransactionManager) processTransaction() (returnedErr error) {
+func (mgr *TransactionManager) processTransaction(ctx context.Context) (returnedErr error) {
 	var cleanUps []func() error
 	defer func() {
 		for _, cleanUp := range cleanUps {
@@ -774,7 +785,19 @@ func (mgr *TransactionManager) processTransaction() (returnedErr error) {
 			logEntry.RepositoryDeletion = &gitalypb.LogEntry_RepositoryDeletion{}
 		}
 
-		return mgr.appendLogEntry(nextLogIndex, logEntry)
+		if err := mgr.voteTransaction(ctx, voting.Prepared, transaction, logEntry); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("vote prepared: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		if err := mgr.appendLogEntry(nextLogIndex, logEntry); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("append log entry: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		if err := mgr.voteTransaction(ctx, voting.Committed, transaction, logEntry); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("vote committed: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		return nil
 	}(); err != nil {
 		transaction.result <- err
 		return nil
@@ -785,6 +808,62 @@ func (mgr *TransactionManager) processTransaction() (returnedErr error) {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// voteTransaction constructs a vote from the changes and casts the vote to Praefect if the request context
+// contained a Prafect transaction. The voting is not required by the TransactionManager itself and is purely
+// for backwards compatibility with Praefect's transactions when WAL is enabled.
+func (mgr *TransactionManager) voteTransaction(ctx context.Context, phase voting.Phase, tx *Transaction, logEntry *gitalypb.LogEntry) error {
+	hasher := voting.NewVoteHash()
+	if tx.defaultBranchUpdate != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "ref: %s\n", tx.defaultBranchUpdate.Reference)
+	}
+
+	head, err := tx.stagingRepository.HeadReference(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("head reference: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	for _, loggedUpdate := range logEntry.ReferenceUpdates {
+		referenceName := git.ReferenceName(loggedUpdate.ReferenceName)
+		// The logged reference updates have been sorted but don't contain the old OIDs. Use the order
+		// in the log entry to access the updates so the voting happens in a deterministic order.
+		update := tx.referenceUpdates[referenceName]
+
+		oldOID := update.OldOID
+		if update.Force {
+			// Force updates have a zero OID as the old value in the reference transaction hook.
+			// Model the same behavior so the votes match.
+			objectHash, err := mgr.repository.ObjectHash(ctx)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("object hash: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			oldOID = objectHash.ZeroOID
+		}
+
+		fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "%s %s %s\n", oldOID, update.NewOID, referenceName)
+		if referenceName == head {
+			// When the reference pointed to by HEAD is updated, the reference transaction hook
+			// also prints a line updating HEAD. Print out a line for the HEAD here as well to ensure
+			// the vote matches what the reference transaction hook would produce.
+			//
+			// This is seemingly a bug as the reference transaction hook has been documented to
+			// not cover symbolic references: https://git-scm.com/docs/githooks#_reference_transaction
+			fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "%s %s %s\n", oldOID, update.NewOID, "HEAD")
+		}
+	}
+
+	vote, err := hasher.Vote()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("vote from hash: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if err := transaction.VoteOnContext(tx.requestContext, mgr.voteManager, vote, phase); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("vote on context: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // Stop stops the transaction processing causing Run to return.
 func (mgr *TransactionManager) Stop() { mgr.stop() }
 
@@ -1078,7 +1157,7 @@ func (mgr *TransactionManager) verifyReferences(ctx context.Context, transaction
 		})
 	}
 
-	// Sort the reference updates so the reference changes are always logged in a deterministic order.
+	// Sort the reference updates so the reference changes are always logged and voted in a deterministic order.
 	sort.Slice(referenceUpdates, func(i, j int) bool {
 		return bytes.Compare(
 			referenceUpdates[i].ReferenceName,
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager_test.go b/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager_test.go
index 92eb248d3be87365a0fc84f5777bf3173872b747..5881f18c836f79a92e153076be0058d95d570e6b 100644
--- a/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager_test.go
+++ b/internal/gitaly/transaction_manager_test.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/git/updateref"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/config"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/repoutil"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/gitaly/transaction"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/helper/perm"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/testhelper"
 	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/testhelper/testcfg"
@@ -2855,7 +2856,7 @@ func TestTransactionManager(t *testing.T) {
 				// managerRunning tracks whether the manager is running or stopped.
 				managerRunning bool
 				// transactionManager is the current TransactionManager instance.
-				transactionManager = NewTransactionManager(database, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir, setup.RepositoryFactory, noopTransactionFinalizer)
+				transactionManager = NewTransactionManager(database, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir, setup.RepositoryFactory, noopTransactionFinalizer, &transaction.MockManager{})
 				// managerErr is used for synchronizing manager stopping and returning
 				// the error from Run.
 				managerErr chan error
@@ -2896,7 +2897,7 @@ func TestTransactionManager(t *testing.T) {
 					managerRunning = true
 					managerErr = make(chan error)
 
-					transactionManager = NewTransactionManager(database, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir, setup.RepositoryFactory, noopTransactionFinalizer)
+					transactionManager = NewTransactionManager(database, storagePath, relativePath, stagingDir, setup.RepositoryFactory, noopTransactionFinalizer, &transaction.MockManager{})
 					installHooks(t, transactionManager, database, hooks{
 						beforeReadLogEntry:    step.Hooks.BeforeApplyLogEntry,
 						beforeResolveRevision: step.Hooks.BeforeAppendLogEntry,
@@ -3238,7 +3239,7 @@ func BenchmarkTransactionManager(b *testing.B) {
 				commit1 = gittest.WriteCommit(b, cfg, repoPath, gittest.WithParents())
 				commit2 = gittest.WriteCommit(b, cfg, repoPath, gittest.WithParents(commit1))
 
-				manager := NewTransactionManager(database, cfg.Storages[0].Path, repo.RelativePath, b.TempDir(), repositoryFactory, noopTransactionFinalizer)
+				manager := NewTransactionManager(database, cfg.Storages[0].Path, repo.RelativePath, b.TempDir(), repositoryFactory, noopTransactionFinalizer, &transaction.MockManager{})
 				managers = append(managers, manager)
 
 				managerWG.Add(1)
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/txutil/rollback.go b/internal/gitaly/txutil/rollback.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6ee58715c8104366b04ad384673844a7077d1bf8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/gitaly/txutil/rollback.go
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+package txutil
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	"github.com/grpc-ecosystem/go-grpc-middleware/logging/logrus/ctxlogrus"
+)
+
+// LogRollback rolls back the transaction and logs any possible error.
+func LogRollback(ctx context.Context, tx interface{ Rollback() error }) {
+	if err := tx.Rollback(); err != nil {
+		ctxlogrus.Extract(ctx).WithError(err).Error("failed rolling back transaction")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/gitaly/txutil/rollback_test.go b/internal/gitaly/txutil/rollback_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..52e64c556199fd002811d20b941c97589135590c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/gitaly/txutil/rollback_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+package txutil
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/grpc-ecosystem/go-grpc-middleware/logging/logrus/ctxlogrus"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus/hooks/test"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/v16/internal/testhelper"
+)
+
+type rollbackerFunc func() error
+
+func (fn rollbackerFunc) Rollback() error { return fn() }
+
+func TestLogRollback(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("no error", func(t *testing.T) {
+		logger, hook := test.NewNullLogger()
+		ctx := ctxlogrus.ToContext(testhelper.Context(t), logrus.NewEntry(logger))
+
+		LogRollback(ctx, rollbackerFunc(func() error { return nil }))
+
+		require.Empty(t, hook.AllEntries())
+	})
+
+	t.Run("error", func(t *testing.T) {
+		logger, hook := test.NewNullLogger()
+		ctx := ctxlogrus.ToContext(testhelper.Context(t), logrus.NewEntry(logger))
+
+		expectedErr := errors.New("expected error")
+		LogRollback(ctx, rollbackerFunc(func() error { return expectedErr }))
+
+		require.Len(t, hook.AllEntries(), 1)
+		require.Equal(t, "failed rolling back transaction", hook.LastEntry().Message)
+		require.Equal(t, logrus.Fields{logrus.ErrorKey: expectedErr}, hook.LastEntry().Data)
+		require.Equal(t, logrus.ErrorLevel, hook.LastEntry().Level)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/internal/praefect/info_service_test.go b/internal/praefect/info_service_test.go
index e1f989149914fafa527ec25b4c803b9da6923259..1838b5610e3c080c320da7217641577bf1785fc7 100644
--- a/internal/praefect/info_service_test.go
+++ b/internal/praefect/info_service_test.go
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ func TestInfoService_RepositoryReplicas(t *testing.T) {
 				deps.GetConnsPool(),
 				deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 				deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+				deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 			))
 		}, testserver.WithDisablePraefect())
 		cfgNodes = append(cfgNodes, &config.Node{
diff --git a/internal/praefect/verifier_test.go b/internal/praefect/verifier_test.go
index f7938c34a35c60546b8e8658a239f840ba16c423..478c6b21087c783ba1e161c54b18c6840ac2d134 100644
--- a/internal/praefect/verifier_test.go
+++ b/internal/praefect/verifier_test.go
@@ -486,6 +486,7 @@ func TestVerifier(t *testing.T) {
 							deps.GetConnsPool(),
 							deps.GetGit2goExecutor(),
 							deps.GetHousekeepingManager(),
+							deps.GetPartitionManager(),
 						)})
 					}
 				}
diff --git a/internal/testhelper/testserver/gitaly.go b/internal/testhelper/testserver/gitaly.go
index 1447447c0a096ef46e668aa31f52b4d0611089c4..feca491bde308ee64c7427c919834fc1cc3bc265 100644
--- a/internal/testhelper/testserver/gitaly.go
+++ b/internal/testhelper/testserver/gitaly.go
@@ -356,6 +356,7 @@ func (gsd *gitalyServerDeps) createDependencies(tb testing.TB, cfg config.Cfg) *
 			cfg.Storages,
 			localrepo.NewFactory(gsd.locator, gsd.gitCmdFactory, gsd.catfileCache),
 			gsd.logger,
+			gsd.txMgr,
 		)
 		require.NoError(tb, err)
 		tb.Cleanup(partitionManager.Stop)