In a symbolic start to the 2024 US presidential election, the small community of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, reported a tied vote count: three votes each for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump. The voting tradition, conducted at midnight, saw the ballots of all six residents quickly counted and certified in about 12 minutes.
This outcome diverges sharply from 2020, when all five of Dixville Notch’s votes went to Joe Biden, despite this year’s voter demographics favoring Republicans four-to-two over independents, as noted by the Washington Post. Located in the White Mountains near the Canadian border, Dixville Notch began its midnight voting practice in 1960 to accommodate rail workers who needed to vote before morning shifts a tradition that originated in nearby Hart’s Location.
While Dixville Notch’s results are not necessarily a predictor of the national outcome Hillary Clinton, for instance, won here in 2016 the tied result this year reflects what most polls have described as a highly competitive race and a divided electorate. Tom Tillotson, 79, whose father Neil Tillotson introduced the tradition at the Balsams Grand Resort hotel in 1960, said the result “feels about normal” given the close race.
All six voters this year reside in the former hotel, with voter Scott Maxwell expressing surprise at the split, admitting he didn’t expect to cast his ballot for Trump. Another resident, Les Otten, highlighted the significance of Dixville Notch’s early count, calling it “a civics lesson for the country.” He emphasized the importance of voting, saying, “If we can help people understand that voting is a fundamental right of American citizens, that’s perhaps the key to what we’re doing here.”
