Zoom and Teams polls are a quick way to take a show of hands during a call, but they ask whoever is in the meeting, not the members on your register. A member voting platform checks each vote against your membership list and keeps a record you can stand behind afterwards.

For an informal vote on a date or a venue, a meeting poll is often all you need. For motions, elections or anything your governing document says must be decided by members, it is worth knowing what the polls do and do not do.

At a glance

This table is based on Zoom’s and Microsoft’s own support pages. Where their pages don’t describe a feature, we say so rather than assume.

  Our AGM Zoom or Teams polls
Who can vote Members on your register, after logging in by emailed or texted code Zoom: meeting participants. Teams: meeting attendees, including external guests forwarded the invitation who are logged into Teams on the web
Checked against your member register Yes Not described. Zoom can restrict joining to signed-in users, a set email domain or your SSO, but not to a membership list
One vote per member Yes Not described in their docs
Voting before the meeting Yes, plus digital proxy appointment Polls are launched during the meeting
Proxy voting Digital proxy appointment Not described in their docs
Weighted and class voting Supported Not described in their docs
Elections, including STV Board and council elections, including multi-seat and STV Teams: multiple choice with up to 12 options, plus rating scales and, where available, ranking. Zoom: up to 100 polls per meeting, 100 questions each. Neither describes STV counting
Reports Results and audit reports, with read-only access for an independent scrutineer Zoom: a poll report with answers and times, but only the last run if a poll is relaunched. Teams: export results
Quorum Live quorum count from RSVP and hybrid check-in Not described in their docs
Meeting size Works alongside a Zoom, Teams, YouTube or Vimeo stream Zoom: 100 to 500 by plan, with 500 or 1,000 add-ons. Teams: up to 300 or 1,000 by plan
Papers and questions Meeting papers, advance questions and moderated Q&A on one page Separate from the poll

When Zoom or Teams polls are a good fit

Meeting polls are a good fit when the vote is informal and everyone is already on the call. They are built in, quick to launch and familiar to most people.

Both tools give organisers sensible controls:

  • Zoom lets the host create polls before or during the meeting. Its webinar polls let the host decide whether panelists can take part. Polls can be set to require anonymous answers.
  • Zoom’s poll report lists each answer and its submission time. It shows names and email addresses for signed-in participants, and profile names for those who are not.
  • Zoom can also require everyone to sign in before joining, limited to your account, an email domain or your own single sign-on.
  • Teams lets meeting owners and presenters create polls ahead of time and launch them during the call. Responses can be kept anonymous, results can be shared with respondents, and organisers can export results.

If your members all join with accounts you control, and the vote is not a formal decision, a meeting poll may be enough.

When Our AGM is a better fit

A member voting platform is a better fit when the result has to stand up afterwards. The key difference is who is allowed to vote.

Neither Zoom’s nor Microsoft’s support pages describe checking poll answers against a membership register. Teams’ own page says anyone forwarded the invitation who is logged into Teams on the web can vote. Zoom’s report shows profile names for participants who are not signed in, which means people who are not verified members can answer.

Our AGM is built for formal member decisions:

  • members log in by emailed or texted code, so each vote is tied to a member record;
  • voting can open before the meeting and continue during it, with digital proxy appointment;
  • motions and elections, including multi-seat and STV, with weighted and class voting;
  • RSVP and hybrid check-in with a live quorum count;
  • meeting papers, advance questions and moderated Q&A on the same page as the vote;
  • results and audit reports, with read-only access for an independent scrutineer;
  • you can keep streaming on Zoom, Teams, YouTube or Vimeo.

What counts as a valid vote, and whether online voting is allowed at all, depends on your constitution, rules or articles. Check those before choosing any method.

Sources

Running your next AGM or election online? Our AGM puts papers, live stream, questions, voting and results in one place, run by your own team.

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