Nikki Haley sweeps Dixville Notch’s primary, winning all 6 votes

DIXVILLE NOTCH, NH — The six registered voters of tiny Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, all cast their ballots for Nikki Haley at midnight on Tuesday, giving her a clean slate over former President Donald Trump and all the other candidates.

The beach town was the first place in the country to vote in the 2024 primaries. Voters were outnumbered more than 10 to 1 by reporters from all over the world — not to mention the stack of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

Dixville Notch has a tradition of first-in-the-nation voting dating back to 1960, with results announced just a few minutes after midnight.

With such a small sample of voters, the results are generally not indicative of how an election will end. But they do create an early curiosity.

In previous elections, a few other small New Hampshire towns also voted at midnight, but this year Dixville Notch went it alone.

The vote took place in a new location, the living room of Tillotson House, while the Balsams Resort was being renovated. It made for a congenial setting, with an 11-month-old golden retriever named Maxine greeting the media and voters.

Les Otten, the principal owner and developer of the Balsams Resort, said he was excited to cast his vote.

“It’s special. That is really true,” says Otten. “This is what should be happening in every community in the United States, where there is 100% participation, everyone votes. None of the six of us can complain about the outcome of the election because we participated.”

Otten said he disagreed with those who said the New Hampshire primary fell flat this year because President Joe Biden was not on the ballot and Republican contender Ron DeSantis withdrew at the last minute.

“In the end it always comes down to just a few people,” says Otten. “We have two viable candidates on the Republican side.”

Dixville Notch caters to snowmobilers and cross-country skiers in the winter, and golfers and hikers in the summer. For the primary, there were four registered Republicans and two undeclared voters.