I'm not positive about this, but i think it may be to gauge public interest across several options in case the first choice cannot be negotiated with the manufacturer.
I was thinking along those lines but don't the 2nd & 3rd place choices accomplish just that?
MD suggestion: It might be good to post & promote some Massdrop Community Guidelines at some point. One reason I bring that up is that when you start a poll, the banner prompts you to promote your poll but when I did that via comments on drops (where the overwhelming majority of 'dialogue' takes place), MD said that wasn't the place for it. I complied though I'm at a bit of a loss of just where my promoting is supposed to occur. Perhaps I'll take out an ad in the local paper! (Just kidding...)
While the drops get lots of views due to the daily emails (I presume), the polls are not exactly promoted by Massdrop. Maybe an email for new polls based on user purchases or something?
Another reason for bringing that up is the 'chat room hate' among the comments (though it's relatively rare so not a big deal).
I appreciate your reply btw!