What is Dixville Notch's population? Donald Trump and Kamala Harris tie in first votes cast in the US on voting day in New Hampshire town
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have tied in the first votes cast in Dixville Notch, a small town in New Hampshire. The first results of the 2024 US Presidential show Trump and Harris splitting the six votes from the town.
Officials read the final count of the ballots at 12:10 am on Tuesday, November 5, declaring three votes in favor of Donald Trump and three for Kamala Harris. The citizens had cast their votes at midnight as per tradition which began in 1960. The township is known for being the first place to cast their votes in the US elections.
Dixville Notch is an unincorporated remote township in the Coos County region of New Hampshire. The town has a population of six people as per the 2023 US Census. All six citizens are eligible voters as per the first-in-the-nation presidential primary held in January in New Hampshire.
According to tradition since 1960, all eligible voters in town gather at the Balsams Hotel in the township to cast their votes after the polls open at midnight. Once the ballots are cast, the votes are tallied soon enough and the results are declared before any other state. Dixville Notch has been a key destination for reporters on every election day for its quick procedure for years.
In 2024, the township was the only place in New Hampshire to conduct midnight voting.
Who have Dixville Notch citizens cast their votes for over the years?
Despite there being a 3-3 tie in the results of Dixville Notch in the 2024 Presidential race, the small township has voted for Democratic candidates in the last two elections in 2016 and 2024. This year's result came as a "surprise" to eligible voter Scott Maxwell. He told CNN:
"I knew who my wife was voting for. The others, I really wasn't sure .... You just don't know."
Resident Annmarie Pintal predicted that the six voters in Dixville Notch would be divided, adding:
"I think New Hampshire is a purple state, and I think it's very divided. And I think even the six of us might be divided."
In 2020, four eligible voters participated in the polls with all four of them voting for current President Joe Biden over Republican candidate Donald Trump. Biden went on to win the White House as well.
In 2016, four out of seven votes went in favor of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Two votes were cast in favor of Trump while one went to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. Clinton eventually lost the White House to Trump in 2016.
In January 2024, four registered Republicans and two independent voters took part in the GOP primary. All six of the votes were cast in favor of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. However, Donald Trump took control of the township after taking over the Republican race.
The last time that all votes of Dixville Notch were in agreement was in 1960, when the township began their voting tradition. Nine eligible voters from the township chose Republican candidate Richard Nixon over Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy, as per The Washington Post.
Speaking about the 2024 elections, one of the voters, 75-year-old Leslie Otten, told CNN that he voted for Kamala Harris despite being a Republican since he was seven years old.
“Nowhere in the Pledge of Allegiance does it say anything about pledging your allegiance to a person. And I think at the end of the day, Trump has made it clear that you need to pledge allegiance to him, and he alone can fix this, and that is as anti-democratic as I can understand," Otten said.
Given the New Hampshire township's tiny population, the results of the state may not necessarily hint at the overall results. It remains to be seen how New Hampshire votes in the elections, alongside multiple other swing states that will determine the next President of the United States.