How to Make a Poll or Use the Voting Buttons in Outlook

Set up, vote in, and view the results of a poll in new or classic Outlook

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: March 30, 2026 Fact Checked

• Creating a Poll (New Outlook)
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• Adding Voting Buttons (Classic Outlook)
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• Voting on a Poll (New Outlook)
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• Using Voting Buttons (Classic Outlook)
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• Reviewing Poll Results (New Outlook)
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• Reviewing Voting Results (Classic Outlook)
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

In classic Outlook, voting buttons are used to allow your email's recipients to vote on something, and they can be added via the Options menu. In the new Outlook, however, voting buttons have been replaced with polls, which can be added from the Insert menu. In this article, we'll teach you how to add polls, vote on them, and review poll responses in both new and classic Outlook.

Note: You must have an exchange account to create polls or use voting buttons. If you're on a personal account, you won't be able to use this feature.

Using the Outlook Voting Buttons

In the new Outlook, voting buttons have been replaced with polls. You can add one by creating a new email and going to Insert > Polls. In classic Outlook, you can add voting buttons by making a new email and going to Options > Use Voting Buttons.

Steps

Section 1 of 6:

Creating a Poll (New Outlook)

1. 1
   Open Outlook and click New Mail. It's in the upper-left corner of Outlook.
2. 2
   Click the Insert tab. It's at the top of the window.
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3. 3
   Click on Polls. It's in the ribbon at the top of the screen, and it has an icon of three bars of varying heights. It's in the "Add-ins" section.
4. 4
   Choose your poll type. Click the dropdown that says "Multiple Choice." If you want this to be a poll, leaving it as multiple choice is a good bet. However, feel free to change this setting. The rest of the steps in this section will be as if this option is set to multiple choice, however.
5. 5
   Enter your question. In the "Enter your question here" field, type your poll question.
6. 6
   Add your options. By default, Outlook will give you two options. You can add more by clicking + Add option.

   • If you want to allow people to select multiple options, toggle on "Multiple selections."
7. 7
   Choose the poll's sharing settings. By default, the poll will share aggregated results with respondents but will not record the names of the respondents. Feel free to toggle these settings on or off.

   • If you choose to record names, the names will only be shared with the poll creator (you).
8. 8
   Finish filling out the email. Make sure to add recipients in the "To" field and a subject in the "Subject" line. You can also add more to the body of the email if you'd like to add any additional information or explain the poll in any way.
9. 9
   Send the email. Once your email is sent off, people will be able to vote in the poll.
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Section 2 of 6:

Adding Voting Buttons (Classic Outlook)

1. 
   1
   Open Outlook and click New Email. It’s at the top-left corner of Outlook. You can also add a button to messages you’re forwarding.

   • To forward a message, click the message, then click Forward.
2. 
   2
   Click the Options menu. It’s at the top of the window, toward the left.
3. 
   3
   Click Use Voting Buttons. A drop-down menu will appear.
4. 
   4
   Select a voting button style. Once you make your selection, a message will appear that says "You Have Added Voting Buttons to This Message." Here’s what the different options do:

   • Approve;Reject: Use when you need authorization for something.
   • Yes;No: This is a great way to do a fast poll.
   • Yes;No;Maybe: Adds an additional response to the Yes and No poll.
   • Custom: Gives you the option to customize your own poll options, such as time and date options. If you choose this option, check the box beside "Use voting buttons" under "Voting and Tracking options," create your button text, then click Close.
5. 
   5
   Enter your desired recipients. Type the email address(s) into the To: and CC: fields as needed.
6. 
   6
   Add a subject and message. Use the message and/or subject boxes to describe the details of the poll.
7. 
   7
   Click Send. It’s at the top-left corner of the message.

   • When the message is delivered to the recipients, they can click Click here to vote to access the buttons, and then cast their votes. Responses will be delivered to your inbox.
   • You can view all responses in a table. To do so, open one of the response messages, click The sender responded in the message header, and then click View voting responses.
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Section 3 of 6:

Voting on a Poll (New Outlook)

1. 1
   Open Outlook and click on the message that contains the poll. You can open this message in the reading pane, or you can double-click it to open it in a new window.
2. 2
   Click on the option you want to vote for. The poll will be in the body of the email, and it will include the poll question as well as the options you can choose from.
3. 3
   Click Submit. This will record your response to the poll. If the sender set up the poll so everyone can see aggregate responses, you'll see how other people who got the poll responded.
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Section 4 of 6:

Using Voting Buttons (Classic Outlook)

1. 
   1
   Open Outlook and double-click the message that contains the poll. This opens the message in its own window.

   • If you’re viewing the message in the reading pane, click Click here to vote in the message’s header, and then skip to the last step.
2. 
   2
   Click the Message tab. It’s at the top of the window.
3. 
   3
   Click Vote. It’s under the "Respond" header.
4. 
   4
   Click the option you want. This will add your vote to the results of the poll.
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Section 5 of 6:

Reviewing Poll Results (New Outlook)

1. 1
   Open Microsoft Forms. When you create a poll in Outlook, it actually creates a form that you can review.
2. 2
   Click on the form for your poll. The form's name will be the question that you asked in the poll.
3. 3
   Click View responses. It's in the upper-right corner of the form screen. The button will have a little number bubble on it stating how many responses you've gotten.
4. 4
   Review your responses. This page will tell you how many responses you've gotten, the average response time, how long the poll has been active for, and a breakdown of the responses in a circle chart.

   • Click Open results in Excel to export the results to an Excel document, where you can review and save the data.
   • Click Check individual results to see how each person individually responded.
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Section 6 of 6:

Reviewing Voting Results (Classic Outlook)

1. 
   1
   Open Outlook and click the Sent Items folder. It’s in the left panel.
2. 
   2
   Click the message that contains the poll. This opens the message in the reading pane.
3. 
   3
   Click the Message tab. It’s at the top of the window.
4. 
   4
   Click Tracking. It’s under the "Show" header. The results of the poll now appear in a table inside the window.

   • You won’t see the Tracking button until at least one of the recipients casts a vote.
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