Exactly. At least make it obvious that the user needs to sign in beforehand.

I dont think it will change the "must login" bounce rate. I always prefer a "product try" before register, for people like us :P

Except there is no "\"product try\"" in this case.

Agreed. Let the user create the poll, get all set up, then ask for the registration. That way the user has some ownership and will be more willing to part with their email address.

i actually hate it when i invest time on a website to do something, and then in turns out that i need to do something extra (pay, register, etc) in order to finish transaction. feels sleazy to me.

Same...