The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch, the site of the first "midnight vote" in the New Hampshire primary

In New Hampshire, the communities of Dixville Notch, Hart's Location, and Millsfield all vote at the midnight beginning election day, known as the New Hampshire midnight votes, on the day of the state's political party primaries and general elections, following a tradition that started to accommodate railroad workers who had to be at work before normal voting hours.[1] The voting tradition has been followed in Dixville Notch since the 1960 presidential election, in Hart's Location from 1948 to 1964 and since 1996, and in Millsfield since 2016.

Although the communities have small populations, some major political candidates campaign in the area due to New Hampshire having the first presidential primary in the nation, with George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, John McCain, and Dick Gephardt visiting the towns. Multiple third-party candidates, such as Andre Marrou during the 1992 presidential election, have also campaigned in the area to gain media attention.[2][3]

1964

In 1964, both Dixville Notch and Hart's Location gave the majority of their votes to the write-in candidacies of the 1960 Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge II.

1964 primary results

1972

In 1972, Incumbent President Richard Nixon and Senator Edmund Muskie won their respective primaries in Dixville Notch.[5]

1972 primary results

1976

During the 1976 presidential campaign, former California Governor Ronald Reagan was the only major party presidential candidate to visit Dixville Notch. President Gerald Ford won the Republican primary while Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the Democratic primary.[6]

1976 primary results

1980

During the 1980 presidential campaign, former CIA director George H. W. Bush visited Dixville Notch.[7] President Jimmy Carter won the Democratic primary and former California Governor Ronald Reagan was initially declared the winner of the Republican primary with six votes, but it was discovered that a vote for Senator Howard Baker was accidentally given to Reagan changing the vote to a tie between Reagan and Bush.[8]

1980 primary results

1984

During the 1984 presidential campaign Senator Fritz Hollings and former Florida Governor Reubin Askew were the only major party presidential candidates to visit Dixville Notch. Hollings met with the town's four registered Democrats and four independents on February 19, 1984, while former Vice President Walter Mondale and Senator Gary Hart personally made phone calls to the area.[9][10] Hollings won the Democratic midnight vote and President Ronald Reagan won the Republican, with the remaining Republican votes being write-ins for Hollings.[11]

1984 primary results

1988

During the 1988 presidential campaign Senator Paul Laxalt, former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, and Representative Dick Gephardt visited Dixville Notch, while former Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. campaigned for Pat Robertson in the area.[12][13] Haig announced his campaign on March 24, 1987, in New York and then traveled to Dixville Notch later in the day after opening his headquarters in New Hampshire.[14] Gephardt narrowly won the town with four of its seven votes while Vice President George H. W. Bush received eleven out of twenty-seven votes in their primaries.[15]

1988 primary results

1992

During the 1992 presidential campaign Pat Buchanan, Andre Marrou, and Ralph Nader visited Dixville Notch, while Vice President Dan Quayle and Bonnie Newman, chief of operations for Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, campaigned for President Bush, and members of Bob Kerrey's campaign made calls to residents of Dixville Notch.[16][17] Governor Bill Clinton won the Democratic primary, Bush won the Republican primary, and Marrou, as the only Libertarian, won the Libertarian primary.[18][19]

1992 primary results

1996

During the 1996 presidential campaign, Senator Bob Dole and his wife Elizabeth Dole visited the area in August, 1995 and Pat Buchanan and Morry Taylor later visited the area.[20][21] Dole narrowly won the Republican primary while President Bill Clinton received unanimous support marking the first time since 1980 that the winner of the midnight voting communities also won statewide although Clinton faced no serious opposition.[22]

1996 primary results

2000

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Texas Governor George W. Bush and Senator John McCain visited Dixville Notch.[23][24] This was the last time that Neil Tillotson voted first in the Dixville Notch midnight vote before his death in 2001.[25] In the Republican primary Bush won Dixville Notch while McCain won Hart's Location and in the Democratic primary Senator Bill Bradley won both towns.[26] In the general election Bush won both towns against Vice President Al Gore.[27]

2000 primary results
2000 election results

2004

During the 2004 presidential campaign, General Wesley Clark was the only major party presidential candidate to visit the area. President George W. Bush won the Republican primaries with unanimous support while in the Democratic primary Clark won both towns.[28]

2004 primary results

2008

During the 2008 presidential campaign, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani visited Dixville Notch.[29] Senator John McCain won both towns in the Republican primary and Senator Barack Obama won both towns in the Democratic primary.[30]

2008 primary results

2016

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Ohio Governor John Kasich was the only major party presidential candidate to visit Dixville Notch with the rally he held on January 16, 2016. He later won all three precincts and tied with Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump for total votes.[3] Senator Bernie Sanders won two of the precincts and 60.71% of the total vote, becoming the first Democratic candidate to win both the midnight voting precincts with major opposition and the statewide vote since 1980.

2016 primary results

2020

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Senator Michael Bennet was the only major party presidential candidate to visit Dixville Notch before the primary, but received zero votes from all three precincts.[32] Michael Bloomberg won both the Republican and Democratic primary in Dixville Notch as a write-in candidate, while Senator Amy Klobuchar and President Donald Trump won the other two towns in their respective primaries. In the three towns, Klobuchar won a plurality with eight votes for 29.63% of the total vote.[33]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the general election, Hart's Location delayed its traditional midnight voting to the daylight hours.[34] Dixville Notch's population briefly fell below the minimum of five residents required to hold an election in 2019, but Les Otten moved his official residence to the community to ensure that the midnight voting tradition could continue.[35]

2020 primary results
2020 election results

2024

President Joe Biden will be a write-in candidate due to the Democratic primary scheduling controversy.[39]

Accuracy

Accuracy of midnight votes for general election statewide winner
Towns
Dixville Notch YesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesNoYesTieYesYes
Hart's Location NoYesNoYesYesYesYes
Millsfield NoNo
Accuracy of midnight votes for general election national winner
Towns
Dixville Notch NoNoNoYesNoYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesTieNoYes
Hart's Location NoYesYesYesYesNoYes
Millsfield YesNo

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Small New Hampshire town votes for Bloomberg in primary". February 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Tiny town cast first ballots". Rocky Mount Telegram. May 10, 1970. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Dixville Notch is losing its place in the sun". The Boston Globe. January 29, 2016. p. E1. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Goldwater Gets One-Vote Edge". The Portsmouth Herald. March 10, 1964. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Dixville Notch Finishes Up Voting In One Minute". The Sheboygan Press. March 7, 1972. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Republican Second-Slotter Outpolls Ticket-Toppers". Biddeford-Saco Journal. February 24, 1976. p. 2. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Dixville Notch and related rituals". The Berkeley Gazette. May 4, 1979. p. 9. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Dixville Notch wilts in campaign". The Windsor Star. February 26, 1980. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Candidates Court NH Town of 27". Carlsbad Current-Argus. February 20, 1984. p. 6. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Candidates Court Voters in Tiny Dixville Notch". The Sheboygan Press. February 20, 1984. p. 10. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Dixville Notch gives Hollings narrow lead". Santa Cruz Sentinel. February 28, 1984. p. 14. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Presidential Candidates In New England". The Boston Globe. August 16, 1987. p. 18. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Pop. 43". News-Press. February 14, 1988. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Haig starts at Dixville Notch". The Independent-Record. March 25, 1987. p. 21. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Dixville Notch picks Bush and Dick Gephardt". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. February 16, 1988. p. 5. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Dixville Notch readies for quadrennial chance to lead". The Boston Globe. January 26, 1988. p. 226. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Dixville Notch has more to offer than early returns". The San Bernardino County Sun. February 9, 1988. p. 45. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Dixville Notch 1992 results". The Sentinel. February 18, 1988. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Dixville Notch goes Libertarian in first vote of '92 primaries". The Spokesman-Review. February 18, 1988. p. 9. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "New Hampshire town's politicians skip on by". Tampa Bay Times. August 30, 1995. p. 24. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Politicians aren't finding primary time for 22-population town". Tallahassee Democrat. February 19, 1996. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Dole Wins Earliest Votes". Rutland Daily Herald. February 20, 1996. p. 20. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Bush pitches education ideas". Albany Democrat-Herald. November 2, 1999. p. 9. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Republican's off the cuff jokes a bit frayed". The Sydney Morning Herald. January 19, 2000. p. 10. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "No. 1 voter takes it seriously". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 31, 2000. p. 4. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Bradley, McCain win early votes". Hattiesburg American. February 1, 2000. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "In Dixville Notch, N.H., all 26 voters are proud they're first". Detroit Free Press. January 27, 2000. p. 6. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Wesley Clark wins early vote in the New Hampshire Democratic primary". Detroit Free Press. January 27, 2004. p. 10. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Rudy visits". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. November 4, 2007. p. 64. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "1st voters offer no surprses". The Pantagraph. January 8, 2008. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Dixville Notch results: Sanders, Kasich lead the charge". February 9, 2016. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Small New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch votes for Bloomberg in primary". February 11, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Amy Klobuchar leads midnight vote in New Hampshire". February 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020.
  34. 1 2 "Dixville Notch 2020 results". November 3, 2020.
  35. ↑ McCormack, Kathy (January 10, 2020). "Dixville Notch Finds Enough People To Continue Midnight New Hampshire Primary Voting". CBS Boston. Associated Press. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  36. ↑ "First results of 2020 New Hampshire Primary are in. Amy Klobuchar, Donald Trump lead". February 11, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Midnight voting in 2020 New Hampshire Primary show Amy Klobuchar, Donald Trump leading". February 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020.
  38. ↑ "2020 midnight voting results for New Hampshire general election". November 3, 2020.
  39. ↑ Lisa, Kashinsky (October 30, 2023). "Democrats launch write-in campaign for Biden in N.H." Politico. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  40. ↑ "Midnight Democratic party accuracy".
  41. 1 2 "Dixville Notch vs. N.H. winners". The Boston Globe. February 18, 1992. p. 8. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ↑ "New Hampshire Primary Day: Midnight votes in Dixville Notch, Hart's Location". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19.
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