A Twitch poll can be made by using the chat command “/poll”. Polls can only be started by the broadcaster or stream moderators. The streamer will need to be an affiliate or Twitch partner to have access to polls.
- Type and send /poll in the chat.
- Set a Question.
- Create up to 5 poll options.
- Customize the poll settings.
- Click “Start Poll”.
When the /poll command is sent the poll creation menu will be opened.
The poll menu allows you to enter a custom question and multiple voting options. You can also allow viewers to submit multiple votes using channel points or bits.
When you have entered all the requirements you will need to set time duration. The Twitch poll can then be created using the “Start Poll” button.
Once a poll has been made a banner will appear above the chat with the proposed question. Viewers will need to click on the banner to see the voting options.
How to End a Twitch Poll
Twitch polls can be ended by using the “/endpoll” command. Once confirmed the poll will be ended and users will no longer be able to vote. All viewers will be able to see the final poll results at the top of the Twitch chat.
How to Delete a Twitch Poll
A poll can be deleted using the “/deletepoll” command. Deleting a poll will completely remove the currently active poll. The results will not be finalized or shown anywhere.
Start a Twitch Poll with Quick Actions
Quick actions allow a streamer to quickly make changes or perform actions with a click. Starting a poll with quick actions is significantly faster than using a chat command. Unfortunately, the quick actions menu is only available for the streamer and editors.
The quick actions menu is located on the stream manager page. This can be found in the Twitch creator dashboard. Editors can view the stream managers page by navigating to the same web address as the streamer.
If the editor navigates to their own stream manager page, they can replace their name in the URL with the streamers. Once the new URL has been submitted the broadcaster’s dashboard will be loaded.
The “Manage Your Poll” function will need to be added to the quick actions menu. Pressing the plus icon will allow you to add any available action to your menu. The poll action is restricted to Twitch affiliates and partners.
Clicking on the “Manage Poll” quick action will allow you to see results, or make a new Twitch poll. The poll interface will open, allowing you to set the title and answer options.
Add Twitch Quick Actions and Polls to OBS Studio
Streamers can use custom browser docks to add their Twitch actions menu into OBS Studio. Browser docs can be snapped into position for a completely customizable streaming interface entirely within OBS. Using docks the Twitch poll action can be added to OBS.
- Head to the stream manager page, by default the quick actions panel should be available. If you don’t see quick actions, then press the pencil icon at the top to edit your interface.
- Select “Pop-out” by clicking on the three dots at the top of the quick actions menu. This will open the actions panel in its own browser window.
- Highlight the web address and copy it to your clipboard. Close the pop-out window once the address is saved.
- Open OBS and go to view, docks, custom browser docks. A new window should open.
- Select the blank box under the Dock Name heading, then give it a name. The name doesn’t affect anything.
- Paste the quick actions web address into the URL section then press apply.
Your new dock will open, you may be required to sign in to your Twitch account first. The dock can then be dragged and snapped into position inside of OBS. All of the actions will be completely functional through your newly added dock.
Twitch Poll Alternative
New and small streamers that don’t have access to Twitch polls can use Strawpoll. The Strawpoll website allows you to quickly set up and make a poll that you can share with a link. Anybody can create or vote on a Strawpoll, with no sign up needed. Making it the perfect solution for non-affiliates.
Nightbot has Strawpoll integration, allowing moderators to create polls in a Twitch stream using a chat command.
How to Make a Poll with Nightbot
The Nightbot Twitch integration provides streamers and Moderators with useful tools to improve the stream experience. Nightbot allows you to enable a poll command, which moderators may use. The poll command allows Moderators to make a Strawpoll with Nightbot from the Twitch Chat.
To make a poll using Nightbot a moderator will need to type “!poll new” followed by the title and voting options. The titles and options will need to be separated by a vertical line and spaces. The line is found above the enter key on your keyboard and will require you to hold Shift.
Example: !poll new title | option 1 | option 2 | option 3
Send the command and Nightbot will generate a poll and share the link in chat.
The streamer or moderator can then view the link to see the results as they update live, or use the chat command “!poll results” to see them in chat.
Final Thoughts
Polls are a fun way to engage viewers in the Stream content. Streamers can use polls to allow viewers to choose what game is played or decide other factors of the stream. Moderators can run polls themselves so the broadcaster can pay more attention to entertaining.
