Literary Digest Election issue September 12, 1936 . In this issue the magazine launched its most ambitious poll ever, mailing over 10 million postcards to its subscribeers and from other lists. The 1936 Literary Digest straw poll incorrectly predicted that Alf Landon would defeat Franklin Roosevelt by almost 20 percentage points in the presidential election. It marked the end of the era of straw polls and the beginning of the use of scientific polls in reporting.