OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
In the small township of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are tied with three votes each. This makes Dixville Notch one of the first places in the country to report its presidential choice.
CNN reported that the rural township is at the northern tip of New Hampshire, on the border between the US and Canada.
As has been done since 1960, the polls opened and closed just after midnight ET. Four Republicans and two people who hadn’t said they were voting took part.
Even though the number of people living in Dixville Notch is decreasing, the number of babies born there each year is still a success story for local leaders and a reason to smile for political junkies who want to get an early start on the day’s events.
As usual, every one qualified to vote goes to the now-dead Balsams Hotel in Dixville Notch at midnight to cast their secret ballots. Once all the votes are counted, the results are made public hours before they are made public anywhere else. This makes the polls a popular place for national reporters, who often outnumber the voters.
A Balsams lead developer and voter in the township, Les Otten, called the early release of the results “a civics lesson for the country.” He also said, “If we can help people get out and understand that voting is an important part of their right as an American citizen, that’s perhaps the key to what we’re doing.”
Otten said that the project to rebuild will likely start next summer. He then added, “We might as well use our right to vote while we’re here, since we own property and have, you know, our toothbrushes in our bathrooms.”
Millsfield and Hart’s Location, which are both close by and in the White Mountains, were the first places to offer midnight voting before Dixville Notch. They haven’t done it every year, though, and they won’t be doing it this year either. An episode of Aaron Sorkin’s “West Wing” called “Hartsfield’s Landing” showed a made-up version of the three neighbors.
In the last two presidential elections, voters in Dixville Notch have backed the Democratic nominee.
In 2020, all five votes in the township went to President Joe Biden.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton won four of the seven votes cast, while two went to Trump and one to Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate.
In the January GOP primary, four registered Republicans and two independents voted for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley without a single negative vote.
The first in-person votes for the election are in from tiny New Hampshire township, Dixville Notch, where there are six registered voters.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump tie with 3 votes each. pic.twitter.com/RlcQ943hUx
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 5, 2024
On the night before the U.S. election, a lot of well-known people, like Joe Rogan and Roberto Clemente Jr., the son of the baseball great, endorsed former President Donald Trump.
With less than 24 hours to go, actor and podcaster Rogan officially backed Trump for president, putting an end to all the rumors.
Rogan talked about his almost three-hour chat with Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, who has already backed Trump in a post on X.
“The great and powerful @elonmusk. If it wasn’t for him we’d be f—ed,” Rogan said. “He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.”
Leaving no room for doubt, Rogan wrote, “For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump.”
Robert Clemente Jr., the son of the famous Puerto Rican baseball player Robert Clemente, officially backed Trump earlier Monday in the city where his father played.
Together with Trump, Clemente Jr. went on stage in Pittsburgh and gave Trump praise.
“For the first time, I had to take a step forward. It is very important for me to support this man, because I believe tomorrow is a change of time,” Clemente Jr. said. “My father, the name Clemente, what it means is goodwill and unity. I believe that your team is going to bring it all home. I believe in everything that you stand for right now,” he told Trump.
