By Chris Conte
The first votes in this year’s New Hampshire presidential primary are in and the people of Dixville Notch gave Nikki Haley the lead. Just after midnight, all six residents of the town voted for Haley.
The town, which is about 20 miles from the Canada border, prides itself on being the first in the nation to vote in a presidential primary.
New Hampshire law typically mandates that a city or town has to have their polling locations open at around 6 or 7 a.m. on election day. However, Dixville Notch is the exception.
The tradition dates back about 60 years – when one of the town’s residents decided he didn’t want to drive 45 miles in the snow to cast a ballot.
The town got special legislative permission to create its own polling place.
Now, the town is subject to media frenzy as the residents cast and tally their votes. Their votes are not always indicative of who will win the state’s primary. John Kasich got more votes than Donald Trump in 2016, but Trump went on to win the state. In 2020, Michael Bloomberg got more votes than his Democratic rivals, but Bernie Sanders would go on to win the state.
