diff --git a/plugins/poll/plugin.rb b/plugins/poll/plugin.rb
index 18d5b075aa3..be758961f8c 100644
--- a/plugins/poll/plugin.rb
+++ b/plugins/poll/plugin.rb
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ after_initialize do
 
     validator = DiscoursePoll::PollsValidator.new(self)
     return unless (polls = validator.validate_polls)
+    return if polls.blank? && self.id.blank?
 
     if polls.present?
       validator = DiscoursePoll::PostValidator.new(self)
@@ -78,6 +79,8 @@ after_initialize do
 
     # are we updating a post?
     if self.id.present?
+      return if polls.blank? && ::Poll.where(post: self).empty?
+
       DiscoursePoll::PollsUpdater.update(self, polls)
     else
       self.extracted_polls = polls
diff --git a/plugins/poll/spec/lib/polls_updater_spec.rb b/plugins/poll/spec/lib/polls_updater_spec.rb
index f42ec701861..be71634c4f7 100644
--- a/plugins/poll/spec/lib/polls_updater_spec.rb
+++ b/plugins/poll/spec/lib/polls_updater_spec.rb
@@ -186,5 +186,27 @@ RSpec.describe DiscoursePoll::PollsUpdater do
         end
       end
     end
+
+    context "when no polls" do
+      it "does not attempt to update polls" do
+        DiscoursePoll::PollsUpdater.stubs(:update).raises(StandardError)
+        no_poll_post = Fabricate(:post)
+
+        raw = <<~RAW
+          no poll here, moving on
+        RAW
+
+        no_poll_post.raw = raw
+        expect(no_poll_post.valid?).to eq(true)
+      end
+
+      it "does not need to validate post" do
+        DiscoursePoll::PostValidator.stubs(:validate_post).raises(StandardError)
+        no_poll_post =
+          Post.new(user: user, topic: Fabricate(:topic), raw: "no poll here, meoving on")
+
+        expect(no_poll_post.valid?).to eq(true)
+      end
+    end
   end
 end