DIXVILLE NOTCH, NEW HAMPSHIRE – As the clock struck midnight on Nov. 5, residents of a small New Hampshire town cast the first ballots to be counted in the General Election on Election Day – with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris tying with three votes each out of the six registered voters.
In a 64-year-old tradition, the six residents of Dixville Notch gathered Monday night just miles south of the Canadian border – well outnumbered by reporters and observers from across the state and even globe, with some traveling from as far as Hong Kong. Coffee in hand, spectators, planners, and the voters were buzzing with excitement, as golden retriever named Max and goldendoodle named Lucy bounced around looking for pets and snacks throughout the evening.
As many kept their vote to themselves well before midnight, not every voter had their mind made up. All six (four registered Republicans and two unenrolled) had put their support behind former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley in January, leaving some questioning how to cast their vote.
Scott Maxwell, who has lived in Dixville Notch for just over three and a half years, told the Washington Examiner that the election cycle has been “frustrating” since the primary.
“I even contemplated writing [Haley] in, then decided not to,” Maxwell said, adding that he didn’t know who would ultimately get his vote just a few short hours later. “I thought I did, and then, when it comes down to it, it’s been a tough decision.”
Despite any indecisiveness, all six ballots were cast moments after midnight, with the results heard minutes later. For the voters and spectators both, it was a historic event.
“It kind of brings what we do as a country back to its roots, and it’s five — six now, citizens passing a vote, and, you know, having it counted in front of everybody,” Colebrook resident Joe Casey, who voted in Dixville Notch during the 2020 election, told the Washington Examiner. “It’s just kind of neat.”
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Resident Anne Marie Pintal, who cast her first vote in Dixville Notch during the January primary, described the evening as “really exciting.”
“It’s a fantastic tradition,” Pintal said. “So I’m happy to be a part of it. I think it’s important to this community.”
Several people, including the owner and lead developer of the Balsams Resort, Leslie “Lee” Otten, said it was evidence of democracy at work. Otten described the event as a “sort of poli-sci experience” that has lasted over six decades.
“We are executing our rights, democracy,” Otten told the Washington Examiner. “One hundred percent of our population is voting, albeit six people, but it’s still 100%. We’re doing it of our own free will…It feels as though we’re doing something that’s important.”
Traditionally, the midnight voting takes place at the Ballot Room within the Balsams Resort, which looks like it was plucked out of Stephen King’s “The Shining” as its white paint and red roofs stand out amongst the tree-filled wilderness. However, the resort has been closed for renovations, forcing the voters, journalists, and pets into the Tillotson House, where the January primary was also held.
Early Tuesday, voters also cast their support in a 5-1 vote for Republican Kelly Ayotte for in the gubernatorial race and Democrat Maggie Goodlander to represent the second district in the House of Representatives in a 4-2 vote.
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Dixville Notch’s tradition of midnight voting can be traced back to a man called Neil Tillotson, who purchased the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in the small town. Tillotson is credited with organizing the first midnight general election vote in 1960, after he received approval from the legislature that made Dixville Notch its own voting precinct.
As state law allows voting precincts to close and count the votes after all registered voters have cast their ballots, Dixville Notch’s small population allows the town to tally their votes in a matter of minutes.
With the six votes making up such a small percentage of the overall New Hampshire vote, there are doubts on how predictive Tuesday’s early morning results will be as the rest of the nation prepares to cast their votes in a matter of hours.
Though, that’s not to say some past votes didn’t appear to have a magic ball. From 2000 to 2012, the winner of the general election in the small town went on to win the presidential election. That streak ended in 2016, when only two voters cast their ballot for Donald Trump. However, in 2020, Dixville Notch appeared to regain its predictive powers as all five votes went to President Joe Biden.
But not everyone is convinced, with Otten saying the town has the same ability to predict the future as Punxsutawney Phil.
As attention from across the nation descended on the small New Hampshire town Monday evening, current and past voters of Dixville Notch have described the events as overwhelming and intimidating. However, for Maxwell, it is also just a small part of a much larger election.
“My vote’s not any more important than anyone else,” he said. “We just get to vote first.”
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In the months leading up to the election it remained unclear who the six residents would cast their vote for, given their past support for Haley. While Trump had appeared on the ballot, Biden’s name was nowhere to be seen. The incumbent ran for a second term until July when he stepped down and endorsed Harris.
Biden’s absence came after months of tension between New Hampshire Democrats and the Democratic National Committee, which backed South Carolina’s bid to be the first approved primary.
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan ultimately defied the president and DNC rules to still hold the Granite State’s primary before South Carolina – pointing to a 1975 state law that requires New Hampshire to hold the nation’s first primary. As a result, the DNC opted not to award delegates to the winner of the primary.
While Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) did appear on the ballot, representing the Democratic Party, he did not receive any votes in Dixville Notch.
As of Monday evening, Harris was still favored to win New Hampshire, leading by 3.5% in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
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With the final results of the election expected later in the week, Maxwell said it is his hope that the nation can get along and come together in the months leading up to the inauguration.
“I think that’s what everybody says, sounds a little tacky saying it, but we certainly can’t get any further apart,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I hope we don’t. It’s too bad, no matter how I vote, I’m gonna upset some people, but that’s okay.”