Dixville Notch, New Hampshire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
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The Balsams, a resort hotel in Dixville Notch and the site of the "midnight vote"
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 Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
Location in New Hampshire
Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Hampshire |
| County | Coos |
| Township | Dixville |
| Elevation | 1,873 ft (571 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code(s) | 603 |
| GNIS feature ID | 866591 |
Dixville Notch is a very small community in New Hampshire, United States. It's located in the northern part of the state, not far from the Canadian border. In 2020, only four people lived there! Even though it's tiny, Dixville Notch is famous across the country. It's known for being the very first place to announce its votes during the New Hampshire presidential primary. This primary election is the first step in choosing who will run for president in the United States.
The community is nestled in a mountain pass also called Dixville Notch. This pass is about 1,800 feet (550 meters) above sea level. It sits between two mountains, Dixville Peak and Sanguinary Mountain. The village is also home to The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, a large hotel where people can golf in the summer and ski in the winter.
History of Dixville Notch
Dixville Notch became famous thanks to a man named Neil Tillotson. He moved to the area in 1954. Neil became the person in charge of local elections, called the "town moderator." He also owned The Balsams hotel.
Neil didn't like having to drive a long way to vote. He heard about "midnight voting" from a reporter. This idea meant that a town could vote right at midnight on election day. The state government agreed to let Dixville Notch become a special voting area. This allowed them to start their unique voting tradition.
The Midnight Voting Tradition
Dixville Notch is most famous for its special midnight vote during U.S. presidential elections. This includes the important New Hampshire primary, which is the first primary election in the country. This tradition began way back in the 1960 election.
Here's how it works: All the people who are allowed to vote in Dixville Notch gather at midnight. They meet in the ballroom of The Balsams hotel. As soon as it's exactly midnight, they cast their votes. The polls close officially as soon as everyone has voted. Sometimes, this takes only about one minute! The results from Dixville Notch are then quickly shared with news channels all over the country.
Other small towns in New Hampshire also have similar midnight voting traditions. These include Hart's Location and Millsfield. They sometimes compete to be the first to report their election results.
Dixville Notch holds some special voting records in the United States:
- It has the longest history of continuous midnight voting.
- It has held the most midnight presidential primaries.
- It is often one of the very first places in the country to cast votes in presidential primaries.
- It is usually the first to report its results.
Dixville Notch was given permission to hold its own elections in 1960. They decided to open their polls at midnight. In 1964, their primary election results were the first to be reported by major news agencies. Since then, Dixville Notch has gained international attention. This is because New Hampshire's primary is always scheduled earlier than any other state's. Dixville Notch also votes at midnight for the main presidential election in November.
Most polling places in New Hampshire open in the morning and close in the evening. But Dixville Notch uses a special state law. This law allows a voting area to close if all registered voters have cast their ballots. So, all the voters in Dixville Notch gather and are counted before they vote.
The "Ballot Room" at The Balsams hotel used to be the voting place. It had separate voting booths for each person.
The tradition was started by Neil Tillotson. He was usually the first person to vote. He would hold his ballot over the ballot box and watch his watch. Exactly at midnight, he would drop his ballot in. Then, the other residents would follow. After Neil Tillotson passed away in 2001 at 102 years old, the first voter is now chosen randomly.
In the 2004 presidential election, Dixville Notch had 26 registered voters. About half of them were registered as Republican. The other half were "undeclared," meaning they didn't belong to a specific party. In New Hampshire, voters can choose or change their party when they arrive at the polling place. This means some independent voters might vote in the Democratic primary.
The votes are counted right after everyone has voted. The results from Dixville Notch often lead the morning news programs on election day.
For many years, from 1968 to 2012, the candidate who won the most votes in Dixville Notch's Republican primary usually became the Republican nominee for president. However, on the Democratic side, Dixville Notch's results have not always predicted the final nominee. For example, in 2000, Bill Bradley won the Democratic votes in Dixville Notch, but Al Gore became the party's nominee.
In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democrat since 1968 to win the community's vote in a presidential election. He won by a vote of 15 to 6. In 2012, Dixville Notch had its first-ever tie! Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each received five votes.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the community's vote, beating Donald Trump 4 to 2. In 2019, the community almost lost its ability to hold its own election. This was because its population dropped to only four people. New Hampshire law requires a certain number of people to run an election. Luckily, a fifth person, Les Otten, moved there just in time for the 2020 election.
In the 2020 primary, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg received three votes as a write-in candidate. The other two votes went to Democrats Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. Later in the 2020 general election, Joe Biden won all five votes from the community's residents, while Donald Trump received zero.
Most recently, in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican primary, Nikki Haley won all six votes from the residents. This was a unanimous win over former president Donald Trump.
In Popular Culture
Dixville Notch's unique voting tradition was even featured on TV! In 2002, an episode of the US television show The West Wing was called "Hartsfield's Landing". This town in the show was clearly based on Dixville Notch, or its companion town, Hart's Location.
