How our polls work.
Clear questions. Equal treatment. Real responses. Here is what our numbers can — and cannot — tell you.
One response per account, per poll
Voting is free. Sign in, confirm you are an Australian citizen aged 18 or over, and consent to storing your political opinions. Choose an option or a score, then confirm. The server records one response for that account in that poll; it cannot be changed or counted twice. You can take part in other polls. Earlier PollieScore responses are retained as genuine historical visitor responses.
Practical safeguards, without exaggerated claims
Account checks, a browser cookie and server-side rate limits help prevent repeat voting. The cookie limits repeat votes from the same browser. Clearing cookies, changing browsers or sharing a device can affect this check, so it is not proof of one unique person. Citizenship and age are self-declared. Invisible bot checks are supported but have not been activated; optional Australian-mobile verification is not connected. We do not label these votes as identity-verified.
Equal space for different viewpoints
Featured politicians receive the same card dimensions and voting controls. Cards are shuffled on each visit, and the rotating spotlight gives every featured person the same eight seconds. You can pause it or move through it yourself. Professional poll figures are shown in equal-sized cards. The featured list is a selection, not a complete roll of Parliament.
Two kinds of results, clearly separated
Professional poll figures always carry a source, fieldwork dates and sample size. TallyOz community results are calculated only from recorded visitor responses. We never add fictional votes or blend professional figures into community totals. Every result displays its sample size. A zero-response poll shows “No votes yet”, not an invented percentage.
An online opinion poll, not an election forecast
TallyOz is an unofficial, voluntary online opinion platform. Participation is self-selected and results are not weighted to represent the Australian population. They are not a scientific survey, an official election result or a prediction. A high number of participants does not remove selection bias.
Local privacy and trends
Postcode figures are withheld until that poll has at least 50 responses in the area. We do not show the exact count below that threshold. Weekly charts require at least two qualifying weeks of 50 responses each. Postcodes may overlap electorate boundaries; seat-level matching is not yet available. Changes over time may reflect different participants.
Electoral communications
AEC guidance lists opinion polling and research into federal voting intentions among communications that do not require authorisation. That does not automatically exempt every other page or advertisement. Paid promotion and other electoral material must be assessed separately before publication. TallyOz does not claim government or AEC endorsement.
Read the AEC authorisation guidance