Dixville Notch kicks off Election Day with midnight vote, ending in tie between Harris and Trump

The small New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch began the 2024 US Election Day with a unique midnight vote, ending in a tie between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump. Each candidate received three votes, reflecting the extremely close nationwide polling in this year’s White House race.

The midnight ballot, a long-standing tradition in Dixville Notch, attracted a crowd of journalists as the first votes were cast just after the US national anthem was played on an accordion. New Hampshire’s election laws allow municipalities with fewer than 100 residents to open polling stations at midnight and close as soon as all registered voters have cast their ballots.

This tradition began in 1960, with Dixville Notch’s residents often providing an early indicator of voting trends. In the 2020 presidential election, the hamlet’s voters unanimously backed then-candidate Joe Biden, making him only the second candidate to receive every vote there.

In January’s New Hampshire primary, the voters of Dixville Notch had also given a surprise unanimous victory to Republican candidate Nikki Haley. Haley later dropped out of the race as Trump surged ahead in support, but Tuesday’s vote revealed three residents chose not to support Trump in the general election.

Across the East Coast, most polling stations are set to open between 6:00 and 7:00 am ET (1100-1200 GMT) on Tuesday, as voters nationwide head to the polls in a closely contested election.