I downvoted an answer in error - due to my own misunderstanding of the question. I realised very quickly that I should undo my vote, but evidently not within the 5-minute window allowed for this. Is there anything I can do at this point to undo my downvote?
I think I could edit the answer, and this would re-allow me to vote, but that seems like a convoluted way of doing it.
Yes. If the question or answer is edited, you can change the vote. And, that's true even if you are the editor. It'd probably be bad to do this all the time, but look for some small thing that can be improved, and make that edit. (In this case, possibly a bit of clarification to remove whatever aspect left you confused in the first place. If the original poster left a comment explaining, for example, edit that into the post itself.) Then, you can remove your downvote, and upvote if you wish.
My advice on upvoting is to vote up whenever you see an answer that is a good answer. Don't limit yourself to the absolute best answers but upvote all answers that to your best knowledge are correct thorough good answers. This will encourage the good members of this community to stay in and keep on posting those good answers.
It is not a sin to be wrong about something. We all do it all the time. So my advice on downvoting is to vote down only when the answer is a really bad answer, not just wrong but bad. Leaving a wrong answer without votes (up or down) results in the answer sinking into the bottom of the answers list. No further action needed, though you could always write a comment to this wrong answer and tell the author about what, in your opinion, is wrong with it.
