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The 1936 Literary Digest straw poll was a survey conducted to predict the outcome of the presidential election between Alf Landon and Franklin Roosevelt. The magazine attempted to forecast the results by sending ballots, which were also subscription requests, to millions of Americans. Based on this method, the editors incorrectly predicted that Landon would win in a landslide.

1936 Literary Digest Straw Poll

During the 1936 United States presidential election, pollster George Gallup successfully predicted that Franklin Roosevelt would win in a landslide by utilizing scientific methods with much smaller samples. By publicly criticizing the Literary Digest's methods prior to the election and correctly guaranteeing his own prediction, Gallup demonstrated the effectiveness of careful survey methodology.

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