Here's my take: Manipulating the poll is basically harmless and to be expected.
However, that does supply ammunition for Lon to use hyperbole and ad hominem attacks effectively. Remember, the people that read his site are very closed-minded and will see this as absolute evidence that "You kids need SERIOUS HELP!" As ridiculous as that conflation is, it becomes a referendum on your character for many, a fight that is best avoided when the facts are already on your side.
This:
"Holy crap, this guy's going spazoid over some kid fucking up his poll results, which he should have secured better in the first place"
was a quite ridiculous hyperbolic response to a what amounts to a silly prank that was eagerly encouraged by a pro-program parent that posts here, egging the boy on as it were.
Seriously, this is much to do about nothing.