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[This is different from this question: Cancelling an Upvote (Downvote), as this question here does not relate to which UI element to use, but relates to the conditions that must hold to change or cancel a vote.]

The following sequence has happened to me twice now. I'm wondering if it's a bug, a feature, or my not using the software correctly:

  • A question has some problems.
  • I post a request for clarification/improvement.
  • No response for a while.
  • Without clarification I think it's a bad question, so I give it a downvote.
  • OP comes by later and clarifies.
  • Okay, time to remove my downvote.
  • I click (single standard left-click) on the down arrow, which had previously been black, not grey, which validly reflect my previous down vote.
  • Down arrow looks as if it flickers to grey, then back to black, and I get a pop-up saying (roughly) "you've changed your vote a lot, so now it's locked (unless question gets edited).
  • Sadly, now the question has a down vote that it doesn't deserve.

It's sort of as if my left click generates two left clicks. I don't have this issue anywhere else that I'm aware of. Any ideas?

(Technical details: Windows 7, Firefox, I do have NoScript blocking some sites that can lead to very odd behavior in live preview, but site is fully operational otherwise. This is the question it just happened on.)

Answer gathered from @amWhy's comments: Once your vote has been in place for a while (5 minutes, reportedly), you cannot change or cancel it until the question has been edited. There may be more complicated conditions that can happen, but these two points answer this question.

For others that may find this question, I'll recapitulate the answers to related issues:

  • To change your vote from up to down or from down to up: Just click on the other arrow.

  • To cancel your vote so it's as if you never voted: Click again on the arrow you previously chose, and it will go back to grey from black. Each arrow acts more-or-less like a toggle that also cancels the other arrow.

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    $\begingroup$ The question has not been edited. I guess your vote was locked because it was more than x minutes old. Whether you misremember the pop-up notice or the wrong notice was shown, no idea. $\endgroup$
    – Daniel Fischer Mod
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 19:38
  • $\begingroup$ I think there are infinite times you can downvote and undownvote, (I just did it on your question) $\endgroup$
    – Anindya Prithvi
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 20:22
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    $\begingroup$ @AnindyaPrithvi no, the limit is 30 times: meta.stackexchange.com/a/296017/295232 $\endgroup$
    – Glorfindel
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 20:24
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    $\begingroup$ "I post a request for clarification/improvement." "OP comes back later and clarifies": If they do this only in a comment, and do not edit the actual question to clarify in the question body, then you can't change your vote. Next time, post a request for clarification specifying to an asker that they need to clarify by editing their question post, and when they do that, you'll have no problem changing your vote. Clarifying in comments, without editing their post does no one any service. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 20:30
  • $\begingroup$ @DanielFischer: The pop-up comes and goes before I have had a chance to fully parse it, so I'm not even getting to the stage of being able to mis-remember it, and I am certainly mis-reporting it! I didn't know you couldn't change your vote after x minutes (I think x = 45), so I most likely mis-understood it. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 21:38
  • $\begingroup$ @JonathanZsupportsMonicaC I suspect $x\lt 45$ minutes. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 21:40
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @amWhy: Your first comment makes a great point. While I think making an update in the comments is of some use, being able to write "If you update your question I'll be able to remove my downvote" is a whole lot better. thanks. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 21:40
  • $\begingroup$ Indeed, @JonathanZsupportsMonicaC, for the newest of users, sometimes an editor will help transcribe any update in a comment from the OP, directly in the question post, via an edit (noting the update was given by the OP in a comment). This allows both an updated question, and provides users the opportunity to change their vote on the question. I am fine with this, for very new users. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 21:44
  • $\begingroup$ @JonathanZsupportsMonicaC One has a 5 minute window to change an upvote or downvote on a question, unless the question is edited. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 21:50
  • $\begingroup$ @amWhy: No, I saw that (and another similar question) where they didn't know to re-click on the previous vote's arrow to cancel it. I had managed to figure that out, but was ignorant of the conditions that are required to change or cancel one's vote -- which have now been clarified. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ
    Commented Aug 11, 2020 at 21:54
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I'm voting to close as dupe because this information is contained in the answer to the proposed dupe $\endgroup$
    – Calvin Khor
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 5:05

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