# How do I run a poll?

Go to Manage Polls (/polls/admin) for quick, structured polling — a T-shirt size vote, a field-trip date preference, a volunteer sign-up.

Source: https://www.studentdirectory.app/help/admins/polls
Last updated: 2026-11-04

*From the School Administrator manual, "Polls".*

Go to **Manage Polls** (`/polls/admin`) for quick, structured polling — a T-shirt size vote, a
field-trip date preference, a volunteer sign-up.

Click **+ Add Poll** and fill in:
- **Description** (optional) — uses the same formatting toolbar as Notices ([Notices](/help/admins/notices)).
- **Opens (go live)** and **Closes (last day to respond)** — a scheduled window, not just "open now."
- **Audience** — leave as "Everyone at the school" or pick a saved Audience.
- **Results visibility** — choose one:
  - *Live* — respondents see results while voting is still open, and then for a set window of time
    after it closes (you set how long, same as *After close* below — results don't disappear the
    moment the poll closes).
  - *After close* — respondents see results only once the poll closes (you also set how long they
    stay visible afterward).
  - *Never* — only you can see results.
- One or more **Questions**, each one of:
  - **Multiple choice (pick one)** — with at least 2 answer choices; a respondent picks exactly one.
  - **Multi-select (pick more than one)** — with at least 2 answer choices; a respondent can pick
    more than one (e.g. "Which nights of the Music performance will you attend?" where a parent
    might attend more than one night). Optionally set **Min selections**/**Max selections** to
    require or cap how many choices a respondent picks; leave either blank for "at least 1" /
    "no limit."
  - **Fill in the blank**.

Once published, click **Results** on any poll to see responses. For a multiple choice or
multi-select question, each choice shows its response count and the percentage of respondents who
picked it — for multi-select, percentages can add up to more than 100% since a respondent may pick
more than one option. Edit/delete as usual.

**A delegated Organization Editor** can also create a poll scoped to just their own
organization's members — from that organization's own page ([Organizations (Teams, Clubs & Groups)](/help/admins/organizations)),
click **Add Poll**. This version of the form has no Audience picker; the poll is automatically
scoped to the organization's own members, shown as "Targets: `<org name>` members." The poll is then listed in the **Polls** section of the organization's own page
(see below), where the editor can open its **Edit** link to change or delete it. The organization's
page lists each poll's title and whether it is **Open**, **Closed** or **Scheduled** (with its open
date) — it never shows results or response counts; results stay on the poll's own Results page.
A School Admin sees every poll (including editor-created ones) on `/polls/admin` and can manage it
from there as usual.

**Who sees an organization's polls on its page:** School Admins and that organization's editors see
every poll tied to the organization (including ones scheduled for later). Anyone else sees only the
polls they can actually respond to — that is, a parent who has a child who is a member of the
organization, once the poll has opened — and sees no Polls section at all if there are none. A
parent whose children are not in the organization sees nothing.

**SwiftUI app:** Admins see a **+** button on the Polls tab to create a new poll (title,
description, audience, results visibility, opening/closing dates, and one or more questions with
their choices) — it's created immediately on Save, the same as on web. Opening any poll's detail
screen shows a pencil icon (for editing) and a **Delete Poll** button, same as the web app's own
Manage Polls page. **Once a poll has received even one response, it can no longer be edited** — the
pencil icon simply doesn't appear (this matches the web app's own long-standing rule: an answered
poll is locked to protect the integrity of its results). **Delete stays available either way** —
deleting a poll that already has responses removes both the poll and its responses, exactly like
the **Delete** link on the web app's Manage Polls page. Parents don't see either button. As an
admin, the app's Polls list also shows you every poll at your school — one you scheduled to open
tomorrow (it appears as not yet open) and one whose Audience doesn't include you — so you can always
get back to a poll to edit it; parents only ever see open polls they're in the audience for.