Rules
Single choice vs multiple choice: picking the right format
Two formats, two different readings. Choose by what you plan to do with the result, not by what feels more flexible.
Single choice is a decision
One vote, one winner. Use it whenever the outcome is exclusive: a time slot, a venue, a person, a version to ship. Totals add up to the number of voters, so percentages are easy to explain and hard to misread.
Multiple choice is a preference map
Multiple choice answers a different question: which options are acceptable, not which one wins. Use it for shortlists, feature requests and “what should we cover” lists. Percentages no longer sum to 100, because one voter can appear in several columns.
Cap the selections
Unlimited multiple choice invites people to tick everything, which flattens the result. Set a cap — “choose up to 3” — in the poll settings. It forces a ranking without the work of a real ranking poll.
Votes per person
Both formats support more than one vote per person, from 1 to 100. That is useful for rating-style polls and dangerous for anything meant to be one person, one vote. If fairness matters, keep it at 1 and state the rule in the description.
Decide the tie rule in advance
A single-choice poll can end in a tie, and a multiple-choice poll has no winner by definition. Say in the description what happens next: a run-off between the top two, a coin flip, or the organiser’s call.
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