The traditional first count of the 2024 US presidential election, held in the small village of Dixville Notch in northern New Hampshire, ended in a deadlock with three votes for Kamala Harris and three for Donald Trump. Ta.
In this small community near the Canadian border, it took about 12 minutes to count and certify the votes of six residents who for decades have cast their votes at midnight on Election Day.
According to the Washington Post, this year’s results are a change from four years ago when all five votes went to Joe Biden, even though four of the registered voters are Republicans and the other two are independents. shows a major change.
Dixville Notch in the White Mountains began early voting in 1960. This tradition began in the nearby town of Hart’s Location to accommodate railroad workers who had to report to work before regular voting hours.
While the town’s results don’t necessarily predict the ultimate winner (Hillary Clinton defeated Trump here in 2016 by a 4-2 margin), the results this time around are largely in line with public opinion. This is consistent with polling showing an extremely close race with voters evenly divided.
“I think this is normal,” Tom Tillotson, 79, told The New York Times. His father, Neil Tillotson, started the tradition of early morning voting in 1960 at Balsam’s Grand Resort Hotel, where journalists used hotel phones to vote long before exit polls were available in other areas. We got free publicity by being able to report numbers.
All six residents who voted in this year’s election live in the former hotel. One of them, Scott Maxwell, expressed surprise at the unexpected split. “I never thought that would happen,” he told the New York Times. He also admitted that he was surprised to vote for Trump.
Another voter, Les Otten, told CNN that the early release of the results was a “civics lesson for this country,” adding, “It’s important that people go out and vote is an important part of their rights as American citizens.” If we can help them understand that that’s the important part, then maybe that’s the key to what we’re doing.”
