--- title: "How to create a ranked choice poll in Slack" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-ranked-choice-poll-in-slack/" description: "Let your team rank options in order instead of picking one. How to run a ranked choice poll in Slack, how the winner is counted, and when to use it." --- # How to create a ranked choice poll in Slack In a ranked choice poll, each person puts the options in order of preference instead of picking one. Simple Poll counts the result with instant-runoff voting, so the winner is the option with the broadest support, not just the most first choices. Ranked polls work on every plan. ## Steps 1. **Open the channel** Go to the channel where the people who should rank are. 2. **Type the question, the options and ranked** Put the question and each option in double quotes, then add `ranked` after the last quote: `/poll "Rank the Q3 priorities" "Faster search" "SSO" "Mobile app" "Usage reports" ranked`. 3. **Or choose Rank options in the form** Type `/poll` on its own and press Enter. In the form, choose **Rank options** as the way people respond, then add your options. 4. **Add a deadline** Voters see the ranking only once the poll closes, so give it an end. Add `close after 2 days` (Premium) or close it yourself: click the poll's **Open** button, then **Poll settings**, then **Close**. 5. **Post it** Check the preview and click **Create Poll**. Each voter puts the options in their order and submits. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Rank the Q3 priorities" "Faster search" "SSO" "Mobile app" "Usage reports" ranked close after 2 days ``` A roadmap ranking that closes and reveals the order after two days (Premium). *Premium: closing automatically.* ```text /poll "Rank the hackathon projects you would join" "Slack bot for on-call" "Docs search" "Billing dashboard" "Load test harness" ranked anonymous ``` Anonymous ranking, so people rank on merit, not on who pitched it. Free. *Free.* ```text /poll "Rank the names for the new product" "Atlas" "Relay" "Northstar" ranked close after 1 day @here ``` A three-name shortlist, closing in a day (Premium). *Premium: closing automatically.* ## How the winner is counted Simple Poll uses instant-runoff voting: - If one option is ranked first by more than half the voters, it wins. - If not, the option with the fewest first-place rankings is eliminated. Its voters' second choices move up and count instead. - This repeats until one option has a majority. The result is the option most of the team can live with. It also means nobody wastes a vote by ranking a long shot first: if it's eliminated, their next choice counts. ## When ranking beats a normal poll Use a ranked poll when there are four or more reasonable options and you'll do more than one of them, or when a plain vote would split between two similar options and hand the win to a third. Roadmap priorities, hackathon projects, offsite activities and name shortlists are the classic cases. For a yes or no, or a choice between two options, a normal poll with `limit 1` is faster to answer. ## Keep the list short Ranking eight options is a chore; ranking four is easy. Shortlist first: run a quick poll with `allow-options` to collect ideas, take the top four or five, then rank those. Write options so they're the same kind of thing and roughly the same size, so people compare like with like. ## Ranking inside a survey A ranked question can be one part of a [survey](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-survey-in-slack/) (Premium). In a survey, a ranked question can't be optional, so only include it if every respondent can answer it. ## FAQ ### Can voters see the results while a ranked poll is open? No. Voters see the final order only once the poll closes. ### Is ranked choice voting free? Yes. `ranked` works on every plan. Closing automatically with `close after` is Premium; on Free, close the poll yourself. ### What is the difference between ranked choice and instant-runoff voting? Ranked choice describes the ballot: people rank the options. Instant runoff is the counting method Simple Poll uses on those rankings. See [ranked choice voting](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/ranked-choice-voting/). ### Can a ranked poll be anonymous? Yes. Add `anonymous` and nobody sees how anyone ranked. ## Related - [How to create a poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-poll-in-slack/): Slack has no poll button of its own. Its help centre suggests two routes: install a polling app, or post a message and ask people to vote with emoji reactions. This guide covers the app route with Simple Poll, used by 945,000+ teams, because it gives you a real poll: counted votes, anonymous voting, one-vote limits and a clean result. - [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 ranked-choice voting?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/ranked-choice-voting/): Ranked-choice voting asks each voter to put the options in order of preference instead of picking just one. The term usually means instant-runoff counting: the last-placed option is eliminated round by round until one option has a majority. - [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. - [Feature prioritization poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/feature-prioritization/): When you have more candidate features than capacity and need the team, or your stakeholders, to put them in order. - [Hackathon voting poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/hackathon-voting/): When you are running an internal hackathon and need a fair, quick way to pick a theme, a people's choice winner and judges' scores. ## Sources - [How are the rankings calculated when using rank options?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/119-how-are-the-rankings-calculated-when-using-rank-options) - [What question types can be used in multi-question polls?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/133-what-question-types-can-be-used-in-multi-question-polls) - [How do I close a poll?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/85-how-do-i-close-a-poll) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. Add it to Slack: https://simplepoll.rocks/. Pricing: https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/.