Polls

Polls are Discord’s native voting system, perfect for gathering feedback, making community decisions, or just having fun. They’re interactive, visual, and show live results to everyone.

What Are Polls?

Every poll has:

Question - What you’re asking
Answers - Options to vote for (up to 10)
Duration - How long voting stays open (1 hour to 7 days)
Vote type - Single choice or multiple choices
Live results - Everyone can see voting progress

Creating a Basic Poll

Single Choice Poll

command /poll <text>:
    trigger:
        # Create poll with question
        set {_poll} to new poll "What's the best programming language?"

        # Set duration (required)
        set poll duration of {_poll} to 5 hours

        # Add answer options
        add answer "Java" with reaction "☕" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Python" with reaction "🐍" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "JavaScript" with reaction "📜" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "C##" with reaction "🖥️" to answers of {_poll}

        # Send the poll
        reply with {_poll}

Multiple Choice Poll

Allow users to select multiple answers:

command /multipoll:
    trigger:
        # Add "with multiple choices" for multi-select
        set {_poll} to new poll "Which games do you play?" with multiple choices

        set poll duration of {_poll} to 24 hours

        add answer "Minecraft" with reaction "⛏️" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Fortnite" with reaction "🎮" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Valorant" with reaction "🎯" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "League of Legends" with reaction "🗡️" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Other" with reaction "❓" to answers of {_poll}

        reply with {_poll}

Poll Properties

Required Properties

# Question (5-100 characters)
set {_poll} to new poll "Your question here?"

# Duration (1 hour to 7 days)
set poll duration of {_poll} to 5 hours
set poll duration of {_poll} to 2 days
set poll duration of {_poll} to 1 week

Optional Properties

# Allow multiple selections
set {_poll} to new poll "Question?" with multiple choices

# Add answers (1-55 characters each)
add answer "Option 1" with reaction "1️⃣" to answers of {_poll}
add answer "Option 2" to answers of {_poll}  # Emoji optional

Sending Polls

Send only the poll:

reply with {_poll}

Include a message with the poll:

reply with message "Hey everyone, check out my poll!" with poll {_poll}

Add poll to a rich message with embeds:

create a new message and store it in {_msg}:
    set content of message to "Vote now!"

    make embed:
        set title of embed to "Community Poll"
        set description of embed to "Help us make decisions!"
    add last embed to embeds of message

    # Add poll
    set poll of message to {_poll}

reply with {_msg}

Managing Existing Polls

Getting Poll Information

# Get poll from message
set {_message} to ... # Retrieved message
set {_poll} to poll of {_message}

# Check if message has a poll
if {_poll} is not set:
    reply with "This message doesn't have a poll."
    stop

# Get poll properties
set {_question} to poll question of {_poll}
set {_answers::*} to answers of {_poll}

Reading Poll Results

command /pollresults <text>:
    trigger:
        # Get message by ID
        retrieve message with id arg-1 in event-channel and store it in {_msg}

        set {_poll} to poll of {_msg}

        if {_poll} is not set:
            reply with "❌ That message doesn't contain a poll."
            stop

        # Build results
        make embed:
            set title of embed to "Poll Results"
            set description of embed to "**Question:** %poll question of {_poll}%"

            # Loop through answers
            set {_answers::*} to answers of {_poll}
            loop {_answers::*}:
                set {_text} to answer text of loop-value
                set {_votes} to answer votes of loop-value
                set {_emoji} to answer emote of loop-value

                if {_emoji} is set:
                    set {_line} to "%mention tag of {_emoji}% %{_text}%: **%{_votes}% votes**"
                else:
                    set {_line} to "%{_text}%: **%{_votes}% votes**"

                add field named "Option %loop-index%" with value {_line} to fields of embed

            set embed color of embed to blue

        reply with last embed

Answer Properties

Each answer has:

# Get answer details
set {_text} to answer text of {_answer}      # The answer text
set {_votes} to answer votes of {_answer}    # Number of votes
set {_emoji} to answer emote of {_answer}    # Emoji (may be null)

Poll States

if poll of {_message} is expired:
    reply with "This poll has ended. No more votes can be cast."

Poll is completely closed, voting is impossible.

if poll of {_message} is finalized:
    reply with "This poll is finalized."

Poll is finished but votes can technically still be cast.

Practical Examples

Quick Poll Command

command /quickpoll <text> <number>:
    trigger:
        set {_question} to arg-1
        set {_hours} to arg-2

        set {_poll} to new poll {_question}
        set poll duration of {_poll} to {_hours} hours

        add answer "Yes" with reaction "✅" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "No" with reaction "❌" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Maybe" with reaction "🤔" to answers of {_poll}

        reply with {_poll}

Event Planning Poll

command /eventpoll:
    trigger:
        set {_poll} to new poll "When should we host the next event?" with multiple choices
        set poll duration of {_poll} to 3 days

        add answer "Friday Evening" with reaction "🌙" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Saturday Morning" with reaction "🌅" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Saturday Evening" with reaction "🌆" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Sunday Afternoon" with reaction "☀️" to answers of {_poll}

        create a new message and store it in {_msg}:
            set content of message to "@everyone Vote for the best time!"

            make embed:
                set title of embed to "📅 Event Time Poll"
                set description of embed to "Help us choose when to host the next community event. You can select multiple times that work for you!"
                set embed color of embed to purple
            add last embed to embeds of message

            set poll of message to {_poll}

        reply with {_msg}

Feedback Poll

command /feedback:
    trigger:
        set {_poll} to new poll "How would you rate your experience today?"
        set poll duration of {_poll} to 12 hours

        add answer "Excellent" with reaction "⭐" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Good" with reaction "👍" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Okay" with reaction "👌" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Poor" with reaction "👎" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Very Poor" with reaction "💔" to answers of {_poll}

        make embed:
            set title of embed to "💭 We Value Your Feedback"
            set description of embed to "Please take a moment to rate your experience with our service today."
            set embed color of embed to blue
            set footer of embed to "Your feedback helps us improve!"

        reply with last embed with poll {_poll}

Community Decision Poll

command /vote <text>:
    trigger:
        # Check permissions
        if event-user doesn't have permission "MANAGE_GUILD":
            reply with hidden "❌ Only moderators can create official votes!"
            stop

        set {_topic} to arg-1

        set {_poll} to new poll {_topic}
        set poll duration of {_poll} to 7 days

        add answer "Strongly Agree" with reaction "💚" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Agree" with reaction "✅" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Neutral" with reaction "➖" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Disagree" with reaction "❌" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Strongly Disagree" with reaction "❤️" to answers of {_poll}

        make embed:
            set title of embed to "🗳️ Official Community Vote"
            set description of embed to {_topic}
            set author of embed to discord name of event-user
            set author icon of embed to avatar of event-user
            set embed color of embed to gold
            set footer of embed to "This poll will close in 7 days"

        reply with last embed with poll {_poll}

Auto-Close Poll Notification

# Store poll message IDs when created
command /createpoll <text>:
    trigger:
        set {_poll} to new poll arg-1
        set poll duration of {_poll} to 2 hours

        add answer "Option A" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Option B" to answers of {_poll}

        reply with {_poll} and store it in {_pollMsg}

        # Store for later checking
        set {polls::%discord id of {_pollMsg}%} to now
        set {poll-channel::%discord id of {_pollMsg}%} to event-channel

# Check expired polls periodically
every 5 minutes:
    loop {polls::*}:
        set {_msgId} to loop-index
        set {_channel} to {poll-channel::%{_msgId}%}

        retrieve message with id {_msgId} in {_channel} and store it in {_msg}

        if {_msg} is set:
            set {_poll} to poll of {_msg}

            if {_poll} is expired:
                # Post results
                post "📊 Poll has ended! Final results available above." to {_channel}

                # Clean up storage
                delete {polls::%{_msgId}%}
                delete {poll-channel::%{_msgId}%}

Poll with Winner Announcement

command /competitionpoll <text>:
    trigger:
        set {_question} to arg-1

        set {_poll} to new poll {_question}
        set poll duration of {_poll} to 1 day

        add answer "Entry 1" with reaction "1️⃣" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Entry 2" with reaction "2️⃣" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Entry 3" with reaction "3️⃣" to answers of {_poll}
        add answer "Entry 4" with reaction "4️⃣" to answers of {_poll}

        reply with {_poll} and store it in {_msg}

        # Schedule winner announcement
        wait 1 day

        retrieve message with id discord id of {_msg} in event-channel and store it in {_updated}
        set {_poll} to poll of {_updated}

        # Find winner
        set {_answers::*} to answers of {_poll}
        set {_maxVotes} to 0
        set {_winner} to "None"

        loop {_answers::*}:
            set {_votes} to answer votes of loop-value
            if {_votes} > {_maxVotes}:
                set {_maxVotes} to {_votes}
                set {_winner} to answer text of loop-value

        make embed:
            set title of embed to "🏆 Poll Results Are In!"
            set description of embed to "**Winner:** %{_winner}% with %{_maxVotes}% votes!"
            set embed color of embed to gold

        post last embed to event-channel

Best Practices

Clear Questions

Write specific, unambiguous questions. “What’s your favorite?” is better than “Which one?”
Appropriate Duration

Short polls (2-6 hours) for quick decisions, longer polls (3-7 days) for important choices.
Meaningful Options

Provide distinct, relevant answer choices. Avoid overlap or confusion.
Use Emojis

Emojis make polls more visual and answers easier to identify.
Single vs Multiple

Use single choice for exclusive decisions, multiple choice when users can pick several.
Announce Closure

Notify your community when important polls are about to close.
Share Results

Post a summary or announcement of poll results after closing.

Common Use Cases

Server Decisions

"Should we add a new channel category?"
- Yes, definitely
- Maybe, let's discuss
- No, keep it as is

Event Planning

"What type of event should we host next?"
- Gaming tournament
- Movie night
- Art contest
- Q&A session

Feature Voting

"Which bot feature should we prioritize?"
- Music commands
- Moderation tools
- Fun games
- Custom roles

Feedback Collection

"How satisfied are you with the server?"
- Very satisfied
- Satisfied
- Neutral
- Dissatisfied
- Very dissatisfied

Troubleshooting

Poll Not Sending

Problem: Poll fails to send.

Solutions:

Check question is 5-100 characters
Verify duration is between 1 hour and 7 days
Ensure at least 1 answer is added
Check answer text is 1-55 characters
Verify you haven’t exceeded 10 answers

Can’t Get Poll Results

Problem: Poll returns null or can’t access answers.

Solutions:

Verify message actually contains a poll
Check message was retrieved successfully
Ensure you’re using correct syntax for answer properties
Wait for poll to finalize for accurate vote counts

Duration Error

Problem: Invalid duration error.

Solutions:

Use hours/days format: 5 hours, 2 days, 1 week
Ensure duration is at least 1 hour
Don’t exceed 7 days maximum
Use whole numbers (no decimals for days)

Missing Votes

Problem: Vote counts seem incorrect.

Explanation: If poll isn’t finalized, counts may not be final. Users can change votes until the poll closes.

Solution: Check poll status with is finalized condition before announcing results.

Poll Limits

Question: 5-100 characters
Answer text: 1-55 characters
Answers per poll: 10 maximum
Duration: 1 hour to 7 days
Polls per message: 1 only

Next Steps

Create interactive Buttons and Dropdowns
Build Advanced Messages with embeds
Learn about Slash Commands
Understand Message Wrappers for tracking