How to Create a Multi-Round Voting Contest

When you expect a large number of entries in a voting contest, it might be worthwhile to have more than one voting round. The idea is that all entries can be voted on in round one, but in round two, only the top vote-getters from round one are eligible. You can extend this even further by having a third voting round where maybe only the top two or three vote-getters are displayed.

Here’s how to set up a two-round voting contest:

1. Follow the instructions to create an essay, photo, or video contest.
   
   
2. Follow the instructions to set up the Form Widget.
   
   
3. Follow the instructions to set up the Voting Widget.
   
   
4. For the second voting round, change the Voting Round from one to two in the Setup Menu, and then select the number of entries to advance from round one. For example, if you entered five, then only the top five vote-getters will be displayed. You could also add a second Voting Widget, set it to round two, select the number of entries to display, and then use Widget Scheduling to show and hide the different Voting Widgets.
   
   
5. Click Save & Exit.

To set up a three-round voting contest, refer to the instructions in step 4 above, set the Voting Round to 3, and enter the number of entries to advance from round two.

When one voting round ends, you'll have to make the Voting Widget that's displaying the expired voting round inaccessible to prevent further voting. Here are a few ways to do that:

• Set its visibility to Inactive.
  
  
• Turn off voting.
  
  
• Use widget scheduling to make widgets stop and start showing at pre-determined times. 
  
  
• Remove the widget from the Campaign.