Running a poll
Creating a poll
Every setting on the poll form, what it does, and which ones you cannot change later.
Any signed-in person with a confirmed email address can create a poll. It is saved as a draft first, so you can get everything right before anybody else can see it.
What is being decided
Title is what participants see in their dashboard, so make it a question they will recognise: "Where should the team retreat be?" beats "Retreat".
Description is optional context, shown at the top of the poll. Plain text.
Instructions are optional and appear on the option and voting screens rather than the overview. Use them for the rules of the exercise — "propose one place each", "rank on cost, not preference".
Voting method
Two choices, described in full in Voting methods.
- Ranked preference — participants order every option from best to worst.
- Approval — participants select the options they approve of. You set a maximum.
The voting method cannot change once the first ballot is cast. Existing ballots would become meaningless. The form locks the field, and the server refuses the change even if the form is replayed.
Maximum options a participant may approve appears only for approval polls and must be at least one. Two or three works well; setting it to one turns the poll into a single-choice vote.
Who adds the options
- Only I add options. You write the full list. Participants only vote.
- Participants may add options. Anyone who can reach the poll may propose options while collection is open.
You can add options yourself in either mode, including while the poll is still a draft.
I approve suggestions before anyone can vote on them appears only for the second mode. With it on, anything a participant proposes waits for you: nobody else sees it, and it is not on the ballot until you accept it. Options you add yourself are always live — the setting is about what other people add. See Collecting options.
Access
- Public — anyone can read the poll, and anyone with a confirmed account can take part.
- Private — only the people you invite can see it or take part. See Private polls and invitations.
List this poll in the public directory appears for public polls only, and is a second, narrower question than visibility. Leave it off and the poll is shared by link alone: readable by whoever you send the link to, but not advertised anywhere. Turn it on and it appears in the public directory for anyone to find. A private poll is never listed, whatever else is set — see Browsing and finding polls.
For a private poll, search for people by name or email address and select them. They are notified as soon as you save.
Maximum number of participants is optional. Once reached, nobody new can join — though everybody who already joined can still vote.
Schedule
Four moments, and they must run in this order:
option collection opens
≤ option collection closes
≤ voting opens
< voting closes
Collection may open immediately. The form rejects any other ordering with a message naming the problem.
Time zone is per poll. You enter dates in it and participants see dates in it, with the zone named underneath so there is no ambiguity. Internally everything is stored in UTC, so a poll spanning a daylight-saving change behaves correctly.
Participation rules
| Setting | Effect when on |
|---|---|
| Publish results automatically when voting closes | The result appears the moment voting ends. Turn it off to publish it yourself. |
| Participants may change their ballot until voting closes | Voters can revise. Turn it off and the first ballot is final. |
| Participants may edit or withdraw their own option | Only while collection is open, and only their own. |
| Show who submitted each option | Names appear beside options. Turn it off for blind proposals. |
| Keep results anonymous | On by default. Results show totals only. Turn it off and the results page lists who took part and whether they voted — never how. |
Saving and publishing
Saving creates a draft. Nothing is visible to anyone else and no notification is sent.
On the poll's management page you can then review the settings, add options, copy the participant link and, when ready, publish. Publishing moves the poll to collecting options and makes it reachable.
What you can change afterwards
| Draft | Collecting options | Voting and later | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title, description, instructions | yes | yes | yes |
| Voting method | yes | yes, until the first ballot | no |
| Access, discoverability and invitations | yes | yes | yes, invitations only |
| Schedule | yes | yes | only the closing date |
| Options | yes | yes | no |
| Participation rules | yes | yes | yes |
Only a draft can be deleted. Once a poll has been published, cancel it instead — that closes it permanently while keeping the record and every ballot.