So far, none of the data provided by the linked site would suggest Manhattan will see a reduction in transportation times. This is with the Monday snow however, which I'd imagine
caused delays by itself.
I will say, being in Manhattan, their seems to be less traffic on the road. I wonder if Google Maps traffic data is using a rolling average of ~7 days or something
"Successfully manipulating a poll which employs this method would require following efforts and resources:
Gaining control over a large number of devices in the target geographic region for submitting votes through those devices"
So yes, it seems like it can be defeated via a remote desktop (or any proxy in the allowed area)