DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H.—The only township in the state adhering to New Hampshire’s midnight voting tradition in the 2024 primary, has issued a verdict.
All six voters cast their ballots for Nikki Haley. Voting started at midnight and polls closed at 12:06 a.m.
After the ballots were removed and counted, the resident and primary official overseeing the primary, Tom Tillotson, showed observers the empty ballot box.
Cory Pesaturo serenaded the audience with an electric accordion rendition of the National Anthem before voting began. A dog wandered through the scene as well, delighting observers.
The rest of the state will start voting in the morning when polls open, generally at some point from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Polling suggests the rest of the state may not go the way of Dixville Notch. President Donald Trump held a double-digit lead over Ms. Haley on Jan. 22 in an average of polls maintained by RealClearPolitics.
Hints Beforehand
Before the voting began, at least one voter, Annmarie Pintal Turcotte, told The Epoch Times she had decided on Ms. Haley as a candidate.“I was a Trump supporter for a long, long time, and I think the country was in very good shape by a number of measures during his presidency… But we know his strengths, and we know his weaknesses. I think that his character is a big weakness,” the registered Republican said.
Valerie Maxwell, who along with her husband Scott makes up one-third of the Dixville Notch electorate, told The Epoch Times she expected anti-Trump sentiment to win out in the voting just after midnight.
So did Tom Tillotson, another Dixville Notch resident.
“I’m pretty sure they’re not leaning towards Trump,” he said of the four registered Republicans in the township. He and his wife are Dixville Notch’s independent bloc.
It wasn’t the first time the Republican-leaning Notch has repudiated President Trump. Residents of the township cast five votes for Joe Biden in 2020. President Trump received zero votes.
A few hours before the vote, he agreed that the township appeared to be headed in the direction of a good outcome for Ms. Haley, “whether that means anything for her in New Hampshire.”
“The independent voters in the state could certainly turn the results on their head. Will they do that? I hope so,” he said.
Latex Rubber and a Resort
Dixville Notch hosted its first midnight vote in 1960.At the time, the property was owned by Mr. Tillotson’s late father, Neil Tillotson. He ran both the Balsams Resort and a latex rubber manufacturing plant on the property. The manufacturing plant has been demolished along with a dormitory. The rubber production facility was attached to the hotel.
“The initial motivation was simply to be able to vote without having to drive fifty miles,” Mr. Tillotson told The Epoch Times, explaining that the hotel retained a large, year-round staff.
“At the time, he learned that he could incorporate to vote,” he added.
While other places in New Hampshire had midnight voting, Dixville Notch’s complex had darkrooms and other features that made it easier for journalists to file.
“The press that covered it found it the easiest place to cover it, so they kind of adopted it as the first in the nation,” Mr. Tillotson said.
The site isn’t far from a U.S. border crossing into Quebec, Canada.
As The Epoch Times traveled through the area, signs of cross-border activity were evident: Border Patrol agents and, at one location on the U.S. side, a store where a reporter was told Canadians sent packages to save money.
Yet, while the crisis at the United States’ southern border was a worry in the Dixville Notch electorate, the northern border registered as less of a concern.
“I don’t think it’s an issue—but it’s a potential issue. It’s the longest undefended border in the world,” said Les Otten, the current owner of the property.
