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Quick Answer

In classic Outlook, start a new message, click the Options tab, select Use Voting Buttons, and pick a set such as Approve;Reject. Recipients get a Vote button and results land on the sent message's Tracking tab.

How to Use Voting Buttons in Outlook ​

Applies to: Microsoft 365 (classic Outlook for Windows to create; new Outlook and Outlook on the web to respond)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29

Summary ​

Voting buttons turn an email into a one-click decision. Recipients pick an option from the top of your message, their answer comes back to you, and Outlook counts the results for you instead of leaving you to tally replies by hand. This article covers creating a vote, custom options, reading the tracking table, and when a Forms or Teams poll is the better tool.

Prerequisites ​

  • Classic Outlook for Windows with a Microsoft 365 or Exchange mailbox.
  • Recipients inside the same Microsoft 365 or Exchange organization as you.
  • No admin rights required.

Instructions ​

1. Add Voting Buttons to a New Message ​

Voting lives on the Options tab of the message window, which is why most people never find it.

  1. Click New Email to open a message window. Voting is set on the message you are composing, not on the main Outlook window.
  2. Click the Options tab on the ribbon of that message window.
  3. In the Tracking group, click Use Voting Buttons. A dropdown opens listing the built-in sets:
    • Approve;Reject — for sign-off on a document, budget, or request.
    • Yes;No — for a straight decision.
    • Yes;No;Maybe — for availability and soft commitments.
    • Custom — opens the properties dialog covered in Step 2.
  4. Select the set you want.
  5. Fill in the To line, the Subject, and your message as normal.

Verification: A notice appears in the message header area reading You have added voting buttons to this message. If you do not see it, the Options tab selection did not take — repeat step 3.

2. Create a Custom Set of Voting Options ​

Use this when the answer is not yes or no — dates, locations, shift preferences, lunch orders.

  1. On the Options tab of the message window, click Use Voting Buttons > Custom.
  2. The Properties dialog opens with Use voting buttons already ticked.
  3. Type your options into the box beside that checkbox, separated by semicolons and no spaces after them: Monday;Tuesday;Wednesday.
  4. Click Close. The dialog closes and you return to your message.

Tip: Keep options short and keep them to five or fewer. Each option becomes a button on the recipient's screen, and long labels get cut off. Write Tuesday 2pm, not Tuesday afternoon at 2pm in the boardroom.

3. Send the Message and See What Recipients Get ​

Knowing what lands on the other end helps you write the message body.

  1. Click Send.
  2. Recipients using classic Outlook see a notice above the message header reading Please respond by clicking Vote in the Respond group. They click Vote on the Message tab and pick an option from the dropdown.
  3. Recipients can also click the option directly in the notice bar above the message header without opening the Vote menu.
  4. A dialog appears offering Send the response now or Edit the response before sending. Choosing to edit lets them add a comment. They click OK.
  5. Recipients in new Outlook or Outlook on the web see the options as buttons across the top of the message and click one to respond.

Note: Their reply arrives in your inbox as an ordinary email with the chosen option added to the front of the subject line, such as Approve: Q3 budget sign-off. You can safely file or delete those replies — the tally in Step 4 is stored on your sent message, not in the replies.

4. Track the Results on the Sent Message ​

This is the payoff: one screen with every response, no counting.

  1. Open your Sent Items folder.
  2. Double-click the message you sent to open it in its own window. The Tracking tab only appears on a message opened this way, not in the reading pane.
  3. Read the summary line at the top of the message, which reads something like Reply Totals: Approve 6; Reject 1. This line appears once the first vote arrives.
  4. Click Tracking in the Show group on the Message tab. A table lists every recipient in one column and their response in the next, with blanks for people who have not voted yet.
  5. To work with the results elsewhere, click any row in the table, press Ctrl + A to select all rows, press Ctrl + C, and paste into Excel with Ctrl + V.

Verification: The Tracking button is visible in the Show group. If it is missing, no votes have come back yet, or the message was opened in the reading pane rather than its own window.

5. Check That Your Account and Recipients Support Voting ​

Voting buttons are an Exchange feature, not an internet email standard. That single fact explains almost every problem people have with them.

  • Your mailbox needs to be on Microsoft 365 or Exchange. A POP or IMAP account — a personal Gmail address added to Outlook, for example — does not offer Use Voting Buttons.
  • Your recipients need to be inside the same organization. Voting instructions ride along in message properties that Exchange understands and other mail systems discard.
  • Anyone outside — a client on Gmail, a supplier on their own company's mail server, a colleague reading on a personal Apple Mail account — receives your message with no buttons and no notice bar. Nothing tells you this happened; their vote never arrives, and the gap looks identical to someone who has not voted yet.
  • Distribution lists work, and each member votes individually. The tracking table lists them by name.

Note: If Use Voting Buttons is greyed out on the Options tab while you are on a work account, your organization has restricted the feature. Tell IT: "Voting buttons are unavailable on my Microsoft 365 mailbox — please confirm whether a transport or mailbox policy is blocking them." That gives them the exact thing to check.

6. Choose a Poll Instead for Larger or External Audiences ​

Voting buttons are the right tool for a quick internal decision among a handful of colleagues. Past that, a poll does the job better.

  • Recipients outside your organization — use a Microsoft Forms poll. It sends a link that opens in any browser, so the mail system on the other end is irrelevant. See How to Create and Manage a Survey with Microsoft Forms.
  • More than about 20 people, or you need anonymity — use Forms. The Outlook tracking table names every voter, which changes the answers you get on anything sensitive.
  • The group already lives in a Teams chat or channel — use a Teams poll. Results update live and everyone sees the running count. See How to Create and Use Polls in Teams.
  • More than one question, or follow-up questions — use Forms. Voting buttons handle exactly one question per message.

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

The tracking table shows a name for every vote, and recipients know that. Voting buttons are the wrong tool for anything where people need to answer honestly without attribution — use an anonymous Microsoft Forms poll for that instead.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Recipients report seeing no buttonsRecipient outside your organizationVoting works only within one Microsoft 365 or Exchange organization (Step 5). Send a Forms poll link instead for external people.
"Use Voting Buttons" is greyed outPOP/IMAP account or a blocking policyCheck the account in the From field is your work mailbox. If it is, ask IT to confirm whether a mailbox or transport policy blocks voting.
No Tracking tab on the sent messageNo votes yet, or reading paneThe tab appears once the first response arrives, and only when the message is opened in its own window from Sent Items (Step 4).
Votes arriving as plain replies with no tallyRecipient edited the responseA recipient who chooses Edit the response before sending and rewrites the subject line breaks the tally link. Count that one by hand.
Tracking totals lower than the number sentPeople have not voted yetBlank rows are outstanding voters. Reply to the original thread as a nudge, or resend it — see How to Resend a Message in Outlook.
Vote button missing on a message you receivedMessage opened on the web or forwardedForwarding strips voting properties. Ask the sender to send you the original directly rather than forwarding a copy.