I really like the idea of polls, I think that they would get a better idea of where people stood with actions then just their votes for a good idea (where do you host is one that immediately comes to mind) (do you have funding) (how many startups have you been involved in that have failed)
..mostly I'd like to get some stats on the community in general, and polls are a good way to do it...
As for the karma idea, I think polls are more valuable to newbies than many others, so a karma threshold may not be the right answer.
Maybe add the votes to the post total though? It seems folks are voting in the poll but forgetting to upvote. For instance, right now, if 20 people vote in a poll, it seems like it would be interesting to the rest of the community. Plus, isn't a vote in the poll a marker of interest in said poll?
I think you'd have to weight the number of votes cast to ensure polls are fairly upvoted. Promoting based solely on the vote count may skew the main page.
