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Vote on a live poll from Gateway

How to vote on a live poll from the Timers Studio Gateway spectator page: open your room link, pick an option, submit, and change your mind while the poll stays open.

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Vote on a live poll from Gateway

This page is for spectators. When a moderator opens a poll in a Timers Studio room, everyone already on timers.studio/ask/<room> sees a poll card slide in on their phone. This guide shows you how to vote, how to change your mind, and what to expect once the poll closes.

Voting is quick on purpose. You do not need an account, you do not need to download anything, and the whole flow is built to work on a small screen with one hand in a live audience.

Prerequisites

  • You are on timers.studio/ask/<your-room> in a mobile browser (or any browser)
  • The moderator has pushed a poll LIVE for your room
  • Your browser allows cookies for the Gateway page (used to store your spectator_id)

Steps

Scan the QR projected in the room, or open the URL your host gave you: timers.studio/ask/<your-room>. The Gateway spectator page loads and registers you as a spectator in the background. You will not see a login screen.

2. Wait for the poll to appear

When the moderator pushes a poll live from the Studio, every open Gateway page receives the event through Realtime. A poll card appears, usually within the usual ~100 ms envelope, and shows the question plus the options.

If a poll is already live when you arrive, the card appears right away — you do not have to wait for the next one.

3. Pick an option

Two shapes are possible:

  • Single choice — options show as radio buttons. Tap one; tapping another switches your selection.
  • Multiple choice — options show as checkboxes. Tap as many as you want, within the limit the moderator set.

Nothing is sent yet. You can explore the options before you commit.

4. Submit

Press Vote. The card writes a row in the poll_votes table against your poll_id, your spectator_id and the option index (or indexes). You then see a short confirmation: Thanks, your vote is registered. The options collapse into a read-only summary of what you picked.

5. Change your mind

As long as the poll stays LIVE, the card keeps a Change vote button. Tap it, pick a different option (or a different set for multiple choice), and press Vote again. The existing row is updated in place — no duplicate vote is created.

Once the moderator closes the poll, the card switches to CLOSED, the button disappears, and your last recorded choice is final.

Expected result

The poll card confirms your vote with a short message. The poll_votes table has exactly one row for your spectator_id on this poll_id. If the moderator chooses to project the live results, you may see a bar chart update on the Player screen — but your own page stays on the confirmation, not on the tally.

Change your mind or revote

A single vote per spectator is the rule, but while the poll is open you are free to swing. The Gateway card keeps Change vote visible the entire time the poll is LIVE. Pick again and submit — the previous choice is overwritten.

Once the poll flips to CLOSED:

  • The Change vote button is hidden.
  • The card shows your final recorded answer as read-only.
  • A new poll, if the moderator opens one, starts its own card with a fresh vote.

If you think your vote did not register (slow network, tap on the wrong option), tap Change vote while the poll is still LIVE and submit again. The last write wins.

FAQ

Can I vote without an account? Yes. A local cookie is enough. Your spectator_id is stored in your browser and used to tie a vote to your device.

Can I vote more than once? No. One vote per spectator_id per poll. You can update your vote while the poll is still LIVE, but you cannot add a second row.

Will I see the results? Not always. The moderator decides whether to project the results on the Player. If they keep results private, your side only confirms that your vote is in.

What happens if I lose my connection? Reconnect to timers.studio/ask/<room>. Your previous vote stays recorded against your local spectator_id, so the poll card will show it as already submitted.

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