The tiny town has a tradition of first-in-the-nation voting dating back to 1960
By Nick Perry ••
NBC Universal, Inc.
The six registered voters of tiny Dixville Notch in New Hampshire all voted for Nikki Haley at midnight Tuesday, giving her a clean sweep over former President Donald Trump and all the other candidates.
The six registered voters of tiny Dixville Notch in New Hampshire all cast their ballots for Nikki Haley at midnight on Tuesday, giving her a clean sweep over former President Donald Trump and all the other candidates.
"A great start to a great day in New Hampshire," Haley said in an email sent out at 12:12 a.m. "Thank you Dixville Notch!"
The resort town was the first place in the nation to vote in the 2024 primaries. The voters were outnumbered more than 10-to-1 by reporters from every corner of the globe — not to mention by a pile of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
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Former President Donald Trump arrives at Londonderry High School
Matt Fortin | NBC10 Boston
Former President Donald Trump arrives at a polling location in Londonderry, New Hampshire on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at a polling location in Londonderry, New Hampshire on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
A crowd gathers around former President Donald Trump as he arrives at a polling location in Londonderry, New Hampshire on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
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Inside Webster Elementary School in Manchester, New Hampshire, where people were voting in the presidential primaries on Tuesdays, Jan. 23, 2024.
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Nikki Haley supporters outside a New Hampshire polling place on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
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Bernie W. Campbell (left) and his father, Bernie H. Campbell, who are both working to support the election at Dr. Lewis F. Soule School in Salem, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
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Biden (left) and Trump (right) supporters outside a polling place in Salem, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
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NBC10 Boston
Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips greets a person outside a Manchester middle school on New Hampshire’s primary day, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
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Scott Maxwell chats with his wife Val Maxwell after the first-in-the-nation midnight vote at the Tillotson House at The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 US presidential race on Sunday and endorsed frontrunner Donald Trump, narrowing the Republican field to two major candidates ahead of the closely watched New Hampshire primary. Photographer: Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Scene during the first-in-the-nation midnight vote at the Tillotson House at The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 US presidential race on Sunday and endorsed frontrunner Donald Trump, narrowing the Republican field to two major candidates ahead of the closely watched New Hampshire primary. Photographer: Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images
With such a tiny sample of voters, the results are not typically indicative of how an election will end up. But they do provide for an early curiosity.
In some previous elections, a couple of other tiny New Hampshire towns have also voted at midnight, but this year Dixville Notch went it alone.
The voting took place in a new location, the living room of Tillotson House, with the Balsams Resort undergoing renovations. It made for a congenial setting, with an 11-month-old golden retriever named Maxine greeting media and voters.
Scene during the first-in-the-nation midnight vote at the Tillotson House at The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 US presidential race on Sunday and endorsed frontrunner Donald Trump, narrowing the Republican field to two major candidates ahead of the closely watched New Hampshire primary. Photographer: Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Les Otten, the principal owner and developer of the Balsams Resort, said he was excited to cast his ballot.
“It's special. It really is,” Otten said. “It's what ought to happen in every community in the United States, where there is 100% participation, everybody votes. None of the six of us can complain about the outcome of the election, because we've participated.”
Otten said he didn't agree with those saying the New Hampshire primary had fallen flat this year, with President Joe Biden not on the ballot and Republican contender Ron DeSantis withdrawing at the last minute.
“It always does boil down to just a couple of people at the end of the day,” Otten said. “We've got two viable candidates on the Republican side.”
Dixville Notch caters to snowmobilers and Nordic skiers in the winter, and golfers and hikers in the summer. For the primary, it had four registered Republicans and two undeclared voters.
