> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://collabase.ch/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Polls

> Prepare a poll before the meeting, open it when the topic comes up, and record the result as a decision.

A poll asks the meeting one question. You prepare it ahead, open it when the topic comes up, and
close it when everyone has voted. The result appears only once the poll is closed, so nobody votes
along with an early majority.

Organizers and co-organizers can prepare, open and close polls. Invited participants can too when
**Participants may edit the agenda** is turned on for the meeting. Everyone invited can vote.

## Kinds of polls

| Answers | Use for |
| - | - |
| **Yes / no / abstain** | A motion the meeting accepts or rejects. |
| **Single choice** | Picking one of 2 to 12 written options, for example a venue. |
| **Multiple choice** | Picking any number of the options, for example the topics for the next meeting. |
| **Scale** | A rating on a scale you set, from 0 to 10 at most, with optional words for both ends. |

## Prepare a poll

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a poll">
    On the meeting page or in the live view, click **Prepare poll** in the **Polls** block.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ask the question">
    Enter the **Question** and choose the kind of **Answers**. For a choice poll, write the options;
    for a scale, set the lowest and highest value.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide who votes">
    Under **Who may vote**, choose **Everyone invited** or **Only those present**. Only those present
    means people marked present or partly present in the live view.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose anonymous or named">
    Turn on **Anonymous** if nobody should see who voted what. You cannot change this once voting has
    started.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set a deadline (optional)">
    With a deadline, voting ends by itself at that time. Without one, it runs until someone closes
    it or the meeting ends.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Prepare poll**. The poll is a **Draft**: only the people who manage polls see it, and you
    can still edit or delete it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Run the vote

1. Click **Open voting** on the draft. The meeting must be planned or running.
2. Participants pick their answer and click **Vote**. They can change it with **Change vote** until
   the poll closes. The poll shows how many of the eligible people have voted.
3. Click **Close voting**. The result appears for everyone with a bar per answer. A named poll also
   lists who chose what.

Every open poll closes when the meeting ends or is cancelled. A closed poll cannot be opened again;
prepare a new one if the question needs a second round.

## Record the result as a decision

While the meeting runs, a closed poll shows **Record as decision**. It opens the decision form
with the question as title and the result as description. Adjust the wording, add who decided, and
click **Record decision**. The decision appears in the meeting's decisions and in the
[decision register](/docs/meetings/decisions), and the poll shows **Recorded as a decision**. Each
result can be recorded once.

## Anonymous polls

In an anonymous poll, nobody can see who voted what: not the organizers, not administrators. While
voting runs, Collabase only knows enough to let each person change their own vote. Closing the poll
removes that link for good.

<Warning>
  With fewer than three votes, people in the room may still work out who voted what. The result
  then shows a hint. For a sensitive question, make sure enough people take part.
</Warning>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Outcomes and decisions" icon="gavel" href="/docs/meetings/decisions">
    Record what the meeting settled and find decisions in the register.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Polls API" icon="code" href="/docs/api/meetings/polls/list-polls">
    Prepare, open and close polls from another system.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.