A group of six voters prepare to cast their ballots at midnight in the small New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch, which returns the first results of the nation’s first primary election.
The only two Republicans on the ballot are former President Donald Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew from the race on Sunday – just two days before the primaries.
Dixville Notch opens its polls at midnight on Tuesday morning, January 23, and is historically the first city to cast its vote and produce results in New Hampshire.
There are only six voters who are residents of the city.
Hours before other polls open between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. ET, the results from Dixville Notch are in, and some say it helps predict who will win the state overall.
The small town of Dixville Notch in northern New Hampshire will continue its 64-year tradition on Tuesday morning, January 23, by opening its polling place at midnight for the nation’s first primary election. Pictured: Poll workers count votes during the February 11, 2020 primary election
Balsams Ski Area will vote Tuesday for the six voters of Disxille Notch. The resort is undergoing a $300 million renovation. Pictured: Balsams Resort’s Hale House, where voting takes place at midnight in 2020
There were five electors in the 2020 general election, and they all cast their votes for President Joe Biden over Trump.
The six residents of the small town in northern New Hampshire historically provide the first look at how the “Live Free or Die” state will change in its primaries.
Just 20 miles from the Canadian border, the ski resort of Balsams opens its closely watched polling station at midnight on primary election day to a room full of journalists documenting the votes of the town’s handful of voters. The results are known minutes later.
Hart’s Location and Millsfield have also historically been open for voting at midnight on Tuesday and were among the first to announce the results of the New Hampshire primary. Hart’s Location, a small town in the middle of the state with a population of 68, and Millsfield, just 10 miles south of Dixville Notch, with 21 registered voters, have decided to abandon their midnight voting this year.
In Hart’s Location, which markets itself as New Hampshire’s smallest town, polls open at 11 a.m. on Jan. 23.
Meanwhile, Millsfield elections official Shawn Cote told WMUR of the change over time: ‘Our population is getting older in Millsfield, and getting up at midnight to vote is becoming increasingly difficult for our population.
But Dixville Notch will continue the 64-year tradition.
Dixville Notch has only six voters this year. In 2020, five people voted in the city’s primary and general elections.
Before the pandemic, the small New Hampshire town had double the population it has today, with a dozen ballots from 2010 and even more in previous years.
A man counts all five votes in Dixville Notch in the 2020 general election for Joe Biden
A dozen voters prepare to cast their ballots at voting booths at midnight on November 6, 2012 in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Since then, the electorate in the New Hampshire city has been halved
The first ballot of the 2000 New Hampshire primary was cast in Dixville Notch on February 1, 2000 among the 28 registered voters at the time of that election.
In the 2020 primaries, three candidates in the city voted for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one for Senator Bernie Sanders and one for Pete Buttigieg.
In the general election, all five candidates voted for President Joe Biden over Trump.
“As Dixville goes, so goes the country,” Dixville Notch voter Les Otten told WMUR of the results being watched by dozens of cameras and reported immediately.
“Even if the spotlight wasn’t there, we would do the same thing,” he added. “It’s become kind of a tradition where we understand the importance of voting.”
The Balsams resort where the Dixville Notch voting takes place is undergoing a $300 million restoration and revitalization project.
Otten says the hope is that the voting bloc in the New Hampshire city, which produced the early results of the nation’s first primary, will grow.
“Our six will grow to 16, 26, 60 and so on this week as we grow, and it will be harder to get everyone in,” he said. ‘But the idea remains the same.’
During the 2020 primaries, three people voted for Michael Bloomberg, one for Pete Buttigieg and one for Senator Bernie Sanders