Dixville Notch divides evenly in midnight vote tradition
The six-person village of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire, continuing its long-standing tradition, was the first in the USA to start and finish voting in the presidential elections. The result was a tie, with each candidate receiving three votes. This is surprising, as most residents typically lean Republican.
Voting in Dixville Notch occurred just after midnight local time, and all residents cast their votes. The results were announced immediately after the polling station closed.
Among the six residents, four are registered as Republicans, and two as independent voters. Despite the registration advantage, political sympathies were evenly split between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
In the previous 2020 election, all five voters at the time—among whom only one was a Republican—voted for Joe Biden.
Elections in the USA. The tradition of voting in New Hampshire is long-standing
The tradition of voting just after midnight in New Hampshire dates back to 1948 when it began in the town of Hart's Location, which has just under 70 residents. In Dixville Notch, night voting has been practiced since 1960.
This year, such early voting took place only in Dixville Notch, as other towns, such as Millfield, which has 25 residents, did not participate in this tradition.
Polling stations will open at 7 AM local time in the rest of the state. An hour earlier, voting will begin in states on the eastern coast, such as Maine, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Connecticut.
Voting will last until 7 PM or 8 PM local time in most states. The latest closures will be in Alaska and Hawaii, where voting will end at 7 PM Eastern Time.
A CNN poll published on Monday shows that Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris is leading over Republican representative Donald Trump. The current vice president can count on 226 electoral votes. For Trump, it is 219 votes. A victory requires support from 270 electors.
