---
title: "What is a quorum? Minimum turnout for a valid vote"
url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/quorum/"
description: "A quorum is the minimum number of members who must take part for a decision to count. How to set one for a Slack vote, since polls don't enforce it."
---

# What is a quorum?

**Quorum**: A quorum is the minimum number of members who must take part, by attending a meeting or by voting, for a group's decision to count. Under Robert's Rules of Order, the default is a majority of the entire membership unless the group's own rules set another number.

A quorum stops three people deciding something for thirty. Boards, committees, clubs and
community groups usually define one in their bylaws. Teams voting in Slack rarely do, until a
decision made by a handful of people gets challenged.

## Example polls

Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.

```text
/poll "Adopt the new on-call rotation from next month? Counts if at least 6 of the 9 leads vote." "Yes" "No" "Abstain" limit 1 close after 2 days remind 3 hours before closing
```

A committee vote with the quorum written into the question. *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically, reminders.*

```text
/poll "Approve the updated community code of conduct? Needs 5 of 7 organisers to vote." "Approve" "Reject" "Abstain" limit 1 close after 7 days remind 1 day before closing
```

A week-long organiser vote with a reminder the day before it closes. *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically, reminders.*

## What it means in practice

A quorum is about turnout, not the result. If a 9-person committee has a quorum of 5,
a vote with 4 participants decides nothing, however lopsided. Once the quorum is met, the
normal rule (majority, two-thirds) decides the outcome among those who voted.

Under Robert's Rules, a group without a quorum can't transact business: it can only adjourn,
recess, fix a time to adjourn to, or try to get a quorum. Your team doesn't need to be that
formal, but it helps to decide the number before the vote, not after.

## Applying a quorum to a Slack vote

Simple Poll doesn't have a quorum setting. A poll closes whether 2 people voted or 200.
You apply the rule yourself:

1. **Say it in the question**: "Counts if at least 6 of the 9 leads vote."
2. **Give it a deadline** with `close after` (Premium), so everyone knows when the count is
   taken.
3. **Remind people** with `remind 3 hours before closing` (Premium).
4. **Include "Abstain"** so people who want to be counted without taking a side can be.
5. **Count voters, not votes.** With `limit 1` (Premium) each person casts one vote, so the
   total is the number of voters.

If the quorum isn't met, say so and decide what happens next: extend, re-run, or hand the
decision to the owner.

## FAQ

### Does an abstention count towards a quorum?

In meeting procedure, a member who is present counts towards the quorum whether or not
they vote. In a poll, an "Abstain" option is how someone shows up without voting yes or no.

### Can Simple Poll block a result if turnout is too low?

No. It has no quorum setting. State the rule in the poll and check the count when it
closes.

## Related

- [What is a single-choice poll?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/single-choice-poll/): A single-choice poll lets each voter pick exactly one option. The result shows how a group splits when everyone has to commit to a single answer.
- [How to close a Slack poll automatically](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-close-a-slack-poll-automatically/): A poll that never closes never quite decides anything: votes trickle in, the result shifts, and nobody knows when to act. An automatic close fixes the deadline up front. In Simple Poll you add close after and a duration, and the poll closes on its own. Automatic closing is a Premium feature; anyone can close their own poll by hand.
- [What is response rate?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/response-rate/): Response rate is the share of people you asked who actually answered: the number of respondents divided by the number of people invited, times 100.
- [What is plurality voting?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/plurality-voting/): Plurality voting gives each voter one vote, and the option with the most votes wins, even if it has less than half of them. In single-winner elections it is also called first-past-the-post.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Quorum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum)
- [Robert's Rules of Order: frequently asked questions](https://robertsrules.com/frequently-asked-questions/)

---

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