The Discord poll, tap by tap: what you set, what members see and what stays fixed
A Discord poll is a question you post with the plus sign in the message field of a text channel, voice channel text chat or group message. The creator sets the topic, up to 10 answers, a duration from 1 hour to 1 week and whether voters can pick more than one answer, then taps Post. Members vote in the channel, and the creator can close the poll early.
Written by BuyPollVotes editorial desk | Last checked
Where a poll can be posted: text channels, voice chat and group chat
Discord's help page names three places where the plus sign in the message field starts a poll: a text channel, the text chat of a voice channel and a group message. A Discord poll in chat lands in the conversation where you tapped Post, and in a channel everyone there sees the vote distribution update live as members click their options.
The same plus sign works from a group message, so a Discord poll in group chat needs no different route: open the group, tap the plus sign, tap Poll. The list stops there. Direct messages (DMs) between two people, threads and forum channels are not on it, and no page checked says a poll works in any of them, or that it does not; this page claims neither.
- Text channel: tap the plus sign in the message field, then Poll, and members vote by clicking an option.
- Text chat of a voice channel: the same plus sign, in the text field of that chat.
- Group message: the plus sign in the message field of the group you want to share the poll in.
On mobile: app version 221, the plus sign and the Post button
Discord recommends app version 221 or higher for polls on mobile. The help page words it as a recommendation, and nothing checked says what fails on an older build. If a poll misbehaves on your phone, the version number is the first place to look, since it is the one variable Discord itself names.
A Discord poll on mobile has four beats (plus sign, Poll, the form, Post), and the form itself is simple: a topic, the possible answers, a duration and a switch for multiple answers, with an emoji available for each answer. Members then vote by tapping an option, and the count updates live for everyone in the channel.
- Creator on mobile: plus sign, Poll, fill in the form, Post.
- Voter on mobile: tap an option, or tap Remove Vote to take the vote back.
Add answers: up to 10, each with an emoji if you like
Every answer on a Discord poll is typed by the creator before posting. Discord's help page says you can add up to 10 answers for people to vote on in each poll, and its developer documentation states the same ceiling of 10 per poll. Two answers make a duel, ten make a menu.
Custom answers are simply your own wording, with an emoji or custom emoji standing for each one if you want a visual cue. Anything beyond that, such as a discord poll where people can add answers themselves, is not described in the pages checked: the form lists the topic, the answers, the duration and the multiple-answers switch, and the creator fills in all of it.
Images are a separate question. For an image poll discord members can vote on, the site's page on image polls is the place to look; here the only visual element is the emoji beside an answer.
- Topic: the question the poll asks, which the creator types first.
- Answers: every choice members can vote on, up to 10 in total.
- Emoji: an emoji or custom emoji can stand for each answer.
Edit after posting: what stays fixed once a poll is live
Discord says the poll message cannot be edited after you create it. A Discord poll edit, whether it means fixing a typo in the question or replacing an answer, is therefore off the table, and the wording you post is the wording members vote on.
Two things do change while a poll runs. The creator can end the poll early at any time, and a voter can remove a vote and vote again while the poll is open. Neither one touches the message itself.
Extending a running poll and reopening a closed one are missing from the pages checked. The duration is a single pick from six fixed options at creation, so it is the setting to think about before you tap Post, not after.
Read the question and every answer twice before you tap Post, because after that tap the message stays as written.
- Possible: the creator ends the poll early, and a voter takes a vote back.
- Not possible: changing the wording of the question or an answer after the poll is created.
- Not documented: extending the duration or reopening a closed poll.
What voters tap and what everyone sees while a poll runs
A vote is a click on an option. Members pick by clicking, and the distribution updates live for everyone in the channel, so each voter after the first sees a tally that is already moving. To take a pick back, tap Remove Vote; after that you can vote again while the poll is open.
When the creator allows more than one answer, a voter can pick several. The poll form has a setting for whether voters can select more than one answer, and Discord's developer documentation names the same switch allow_multiselect, a boolean. Single-pick suits a question with one winner; multiple picks suit a question where several answers can be true at once.
But do not treat the live count as final. The pages checked say that while a poll is in progress the results may not be perfectly accurate, so a screenshot taken mid-poll is a snapshot of a moving count and nothing more.
- Voter sees: the vote distribution, updating live for everyone in the channel.
- Voter can: pick an option, use Remove Vote, and vote again while the poll is open.
- Creator can: end the poll before the chosen duration expires.
Platform rules, fake votes and disqualification: what Discord states
Discord states a plain rule about who can vote: apps are not allowed to vote on polls. Any tool that casts votes on a native poll is working against that rule, whatever its own page promises.
What Discord does with a vote it treats as fake is not described in the pages checked. This page cannot say how a vote gets flagged as fake, and it will not guess. What is documented is what everyone sees: a live distribution, and no anonymous option, since the answer given on anonymity is that there is none at this time.
A contest that settles its result through a Discord poll sits under two rule sets. Discord's covers what the poll form and apps can do. The organiser's own rules decide what counts as a valid vote and what leads to disqualification, and they can be stricter than anything Discord states; the poll form has no setting for either.
Read down the last column of the table on this page and the split is plain: the creator holds the settings, the voter holds one action, and Discord holds the limits. That split is why an organiser's rules carry more weight than any poll setting when a result is disputed.
- Discord's rule: apps are not allowed to vote on polls.
- Anonymity: there is no option to vote anonymously at this time.
- The organiser's call: what counts as a valid vote and what leads to disqualification.
What the help pages leave open: pings, threads, reopening and countries
The Discord poll feature is documented button by button, which makes the gaps easy to spot. Whether a poll pings everyone is one of them: the pages checked describe the form's inputs, a poll message sent where you tap Post, and members voting there, and none of them mentions a mention field or a notification rule. Any claim about notifications would be a guess.
Countries are the same story. No page checked describes a version of polls for Nepal or for any other single country, so this page describes one poll and does not split it by place.
A Discord poll command, meaning a typed shortcut in place of the plus-sign route, is not documented in the pages checked either, so every step on this page is a button tap.
- Pings and notifications: not described for polls in the pages checked.
- Threads, forum channels and direct messages: not on the list of places Discord names.
- Reopening a closed poll, extending a running one and typed commands: not documented.
| Setting or action | What Discord documents | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Answers per poll | Up to 10, each with an optional emoji | The creator |
| Duration | 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, 3 days or 1 week | The creator, at creation |
| More than one pick | A switch on the poll form | The creator |
| Editing after posting | Not possible once the poll is created | Nobody |
| Ending early | Allowed at any time before the duration runs out | The creator |
| Taking a vote back | Remove Vote, then vote again while the poll is open | The voter |
| Anonymous voting | No option at this time | Discord |
| Apps voting | Not allowed | Discord |
How to do it
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Update the Discord app
Discord recommends app version 221 or higher for polls on mobile, so check the version first. An outdated app is the one thing on your side you can rule out before blaming the poll form.
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Open the place where the poll goes
Go to the text channel, the text chat of a voice channel or the group message where the poll should appear. Those are the three places Discord's help page names, and the poll lands in the one you pick.
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Tap the plus sign
In the message field of that channel or group message, tap the plus sign. Discord's help page points to the plus sign in the text field as the starting point for sharing a poll.
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Tap Poll to create one
After the plus sign, tap Poll. That opens the poll form, and the form is where every setting Discord lists for a poll sits.
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Add the topic and up to 10 answers
Type what the poll is about, then add every possible answer members can vote on, up to 10. Pick an emoji or custom emoji for an answer if you want one, choose the duration, and decide whether voters can select more than one answer.
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Tap Post to send the poll
Once everything is filled out, tap Post. The poll message cannot be edited after you create it, so read the question and each answer once more before that tap.
Common questions
Can you make a poll on discord?
Discord has a built-in poll feature, started from the plus sign in the message field and sent with the Post button. It works in a text channel, the text chat of a voice channel and a group message, and members vote by clicking an option while the distribution updates live for everyone in the channel.
How to make a discord poll on mobile?
A poll on mobile takes a plus-sign tap, a Poll tap, one form and a Post tap, on app version 221 or higher. Discord recommends that version for polls on mobile; the form asks for the topic, the answers, the duration and the multiple-answers choice.
Can you edit discord polls?
A Discord poll cannot be edited once you create it: Discord says the poll message stays as created. The creator can still end the poll early at any time, and a voter can remove a vote and vote again while the poll is open. Nothing checked describes extending a poll or reopening a closed one.
Do discord polls ping everyone?
Discord's poll help pages do not say that a poll pings everyone, and they do not say it stays quiet either. The poll form's inputs are the topic, the answers, the duration and the multiple-answers switch; none of them is a mention or notification setting, so a claim about notifications beyond that would be a guess.
Can you put images in discord polls?
Discord's help pages describe an emoji or custom emoji for each answer, and they do not describe attaching images to answers. This page therefore makes no promise about pictures inside a poll, and the site's separate page on image polls covers that question.
How many answers can a discord poll have?
A poll can have up to 10 answers, and the creator adds every one of them before posting. Discord's help page and its developer documentation give the same limit, and the form lets each answer carry an emoji or custom emoji.
Can a discord poll be anonymous?
Discord's native polls have no anonymous option: the answer given is that there is no option to vote anonymously at this time. The poll form has no switch for it, and a voter cannot pick one.
Does Discord allow apps to vote on polls?
Discord does not allow apps to vote on polls. A tool that casts votes on a native poll is working against that stated rule, and a contest that runs on a Discord poll has its own organiser rules on top, which decide what counts as a valid vote.
Where these facts come from
- support.discord.com. support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/22163184112407-Polls-FAQ.
- support.discord.com. support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/22163184112407-Polls-FAQ.
- docs.discord.com. docs.discord.com/developers/resources/poll.
- docs.discord.com. docs.discord.com/developers/resources/poll.
- support.discord.com. support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/22163184112407-Polls-FAQ.
This page does not sell or promise votes for a Discord poll, and a purchase of votes for a contest changes nothing about what Discord's rules or an organiser's rules allow. It cannot say how a server screens votes, whether a poll notifies members, or how a poll behaves in a thread. The organiser decides what counts in a contest; Discord decides what the poll form and apps can do.
X prohibits coordinating with or compensating others to inflate engagement metrics, and it names Polls among the features covered. The Pet Industry Business Awards name the consequence in their own contest: a business may be investigated, lose votes or be disqualified on reasonable evidence of purchased votes. No seller can stop an organiser from doing that.
Slido says it is alerted when an event gets an unusually high number of votes in a very short time, and Crowdsignal says its built-in measures detect patterns of potentially abusive voting. Ordinary participation arrives spread across the voting window, from different people at different moments. Nothing on this site is a method for getting a vote past a check, and a vote that a tool blocks does not count.
Organiser rules differ: the RSPCA Pet of the Year Awards allow extra votes through donations on their official mechanism, while OpenTable Australia treats a vote cast in exchange for money or a reward as null and void. Both are contest rules, not statutes, and whether payment is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. Orders are refused for any contest whose rules ban paid votes, and for political ballots.
Votes ordered for a poll that never appear on its count are refunded after the poll closes. A refund never covers an organiser's decision: Localsearch may void all votes for a disqualified nominee, and Mentimeter says a user whose access it cancels under its Acceptable Use Policy is owed no refund or compensation. No result is promised.