Obama Wins Dixville Notch, NH, The First Place To Vote

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. — Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, N.H., where tradition of having the first Election Day ballots tallied lives on.

Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement in Tuesday's first minutes. The town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul. Independent Ralph Nader was on both towns' ballots but got no votes.

"I'm not going to say I wasn't surprised," said Obama supporter Tanner Nelson Tillotson, whose name was drawn from a bowl to make him Dixville Notch's first voter.

With 115 residents between them, Dixville Notch and Hart's Location get every eligible voter to the polls beginning at midnight on Election Day. Between them, the towns have been enjoying their first-vote status since 1948.

Being first means something to residents of the Granite State, home of the nation's earliest presidential primary and the central focus _ however briefly _ of the vote-watching nation's attention every four years.

Town Clerk Rick Erwin said Dixville Notch is proud of its tradition, but added, "The most important thing is that we exemplify a 100 percent vote."

Dixville Notch resident Peter Johnson said the early bird electoral exercise "is fun." A former naval aviator, Johnson said he was voting for McCain, but added, "I think both candidates are excellent people."

Voting was carried out in a room in a local hotel festooned with political memorabilia from campaigns long past. Each voter gets an individual booth so there are no lines at the magic hour. The votes were quickly counted, announced and recorded on a posterboard that proclaims, "First in the Nation, Dixville Notch."

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The tradition drew spectators, including Tim McKenna, who drove with his wife 16 miles from Cambridge, N.H., to witness the event.

"Living in New Hampshire, you hear so much about it in the news," said McKenna. "I think it's a very historic election this year."

Ed Butler, a Democratic state representative who runs the Notchland Inn in Hart's Location, said, "Being this small and being able to be first just makes it that much more special."

Although scores of states have voted early, the two villages are the first to officially announce the results on Election Day.

New Hampshire law requires polls to open at 11 a.m., but that doesn't stop towns from opening earlier. It also allows towns to close their polls once all registered and eligible voters have cast ballots.

Hart's Location started opening its polls early in 1948, the year Harry S. Truman beat Thomas Dewey, to accommodate railroad workers who had to get to work early. Hart's Location got out of the early voting business in 1964 after some residents grew weary of all the publicity, but brought it back in 1996.

Dixville Notch, nestled in a mountain pass 1,800 feet up and about halfway between the White Mountain National Forest and the Canadian border, followed suit in 1960, when John F. Kennedy beat Richard M. Nixon. Nixon, the Republican, swept all nine votes cast in Dixville that year, and before Tuesday, the town had gone for a Democrat only once since then. That was in 1968, when the tally was Democrat Hubert Humphrey eight, Nixon four.

Comments

[paisleydreams]

'there out to be a law' against reporting ANY returns until EVERY poll is closed.

[Eyeful]

So the last time Dixville Notch voted DEM was 40 years ago in 1968?
The DEMS lost to Nixon that year.
I hope that's not an omen.

[sweetjustice]

Yes indeed NH is a great place to meet the Candidates x3 for me face2face
He is just as warm, down to earth, incredibly smart and relaxed as he appears in the media.

[sweetjustice]

Also from NH and will be so thrilled to follow the Dixville model and watch the Nation do the same!!!!

Obama/Biden 08

[doctormiguel]

I consider myself a true Christian and know that I am not perfect. I am a retired federal law enforcemen­t-criminal investigator. I gave to this great country of us, 30 years of service. I just read a short article from Alaska about Sarah Palin's praying to God for a win. I don't want to sound cruel or ironic, but the recent polls as our great American citizens cast their votes, are showing that Barack Obama is leading and he is getting closer in becoming our next U.S. President. People who are pro-McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden point-fingers at each other as being liars. They all can fool us, but they cannot fool God. For example, Palin claims that her youngest son is hers. Some investigative reporters already discover that the boy is in fact Palin's oldest daughter. Apparently Palin lied to the American people. Assuming that McCain wins. Palin needs to pass a very hight top security clearance. I am a former U.S. Department of Defense's special agent and I investigated hundreds of applicants for top security clearances. A false statement or lie is ground for the denial of a security clearance, which means that Sarah Palin's vice-presidency was to be a very short-one. You see, God hears a prayer coming from a devoted and faithful Christian. This is one reason Sarah Palin can never be vice-president or even consider running for the U.S. presidency in 2012.

[newengland]

I live in NH, and I couldn't wait to hear how the folks in Dixville Notch voted. There's a reason this historically "red" area is voting "blue". The traditional NH voter considers him/herself a moderate Republican. But really, their views are more libertarian: small government, stay out of citizens' personal lives, you do your own thing and I'll do mine. The conservative social agenda aggressively pushed by the GOP does not appeal to them. When Sarah Palin was picked and started babbling incoherently about such issues, many of the same voters who supported McCain in the primary were disappointed. Add that to the frustration many in this country are feeling about the war, the economy, and negative campaigning. The end result: Obama wins New Hampshire.

I waited in line for about 25 minutes to vote in my NH town of about 25,000 people. It's the first time I have ever had to wait to vote. The turnout is remarkable.

John Sununu the Elder, former White House Chief of Staff, stood outside my polling place holding a sign in support of his son's bid for reelection to the Senate. Senator Sununu attacked his Democratic rival, former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, for her statements some years ago that she would stand behind President Bush. Shaheen fires back that Sununu supported Bush nearly 100% of the time. Sununu is way down in the polls.

I'll be staying up late to see how it turns out and to watch the victory and concession speeches.

[MathIsTruth]

Here's a salute to Dixville Notch and Hart's Location from a neighbor in Massachusetts!

You guys understand the importance of getting every eligible person to vote. Good for you!!

How different from the suppress-the-vote cancer that's afflicted so much of the Republican party for so many years.

[AustinMillbarge]

One cool place to follow the election is a new microsite I've been working on with Tropicana. The site takes all of the tweets about the election in a really interesting way - think of it as "Freshly Squeezed Election Tweets!" - and then shows the frequency and context of election-related terms as they happen.

So when is the buzz on Twitter is about, say, Dixville Notch or Ayers or Florida, you'll see a graph showing the volume also which words its being cross-referenced with.

If interested, check out the site here: http://www.AnOrangeAmerica.com

[NeverRepublican]

I have quietly been waiting for this day for the last eight years. I believe the most discusting governing body...the republicans...will finally be voted out.

We have watched COPERATE WELFARE ruin this country from the beginning of the regan-revolution. The working class have been suffering from "their politics" for 30 years. It's over. It's finally OVER!!!

The working class will be represented again. And we can put American workers back to work by spending OUR $$$ in OUR COUNTRY on OUR PEOPLE!

I can feel the obscene icy grip of "war and fear" finally melting away!!!

[UpstateNY]

I've been to that hotel in Dixville Notch - very nice place. I'm surprised (and very pleased) that the majority voted for Obama. I hope is a sign and all the news is this good!

Yes, we can turns into YES WE DID!

[Americatortures]

CHANGE THE HOME PAGE PHOTO!!! GET MC BUSH OFF !!!

[lorenzo48]

Having become a total political junkie due to the most fascinating campaign of my lifetime I think I am going to move to New Hampshire. Where else besides maybe Iowa do you have the possibility of shaking the next presidents hand or even having them over to your house for coffee.

[cbird]

So what's wrong with Iowa? I met Barack in March of 07. And was able to tell him what I thought of the Medicare Advantage plan giveaway to the insurance companies. Through the years, I have met Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Walter Mondale, John Edwards, etc. It's great! But sadly, no one came to my house for coffee. :( I am so antsy to get out of here at work and go VOTE!!

[faithfully]

NH is a great place to live. I got to see Obama 7 times (only once up close and personal). I've met Biden twice; McCain's events were more closed and "exclusive" We have a great governor as well; it's a beautiful day today here-clear blue sky and warm. It was like a happy carnival at my voting place (a very Republican town); no lines to vote-just a little difficulty parking.

[rbarthjr]

I had the pleasure of meeting Obama prior to his candidacy announcement (and both Clintons [Bill: personable and accommodating; Hillary: seemed to have a frozen-on death rictus of a smile, but otherwise gracious], McCain [reminded me of a used car salesman], Jimmy Carter [4 times, at every one of which he was intelligent, warm and engaging...and engaged, most recently on his tour for the Israel/Palestine book]) and shaking his hand twice in one day, not to mention getting his signature on a s--tload of books and my Literacy Chicago prize-winning writers t-shirt ( http://flickr.com/photos/jackknife_juggernaut/2020098049/sizes/o/ ) -- on the left wing, naturally -- which was subsequently donated for auction by that Chicago nonprofit.

[MalloMel]

I live in a very conservative part of Virginia, where there are a lot of McCain/Palin signs, and very few Obama/Biden signs. I may be reading it wrong but while waiting in line to vote this morning, which was just a very few minutes, I noticed that most of the people seemed to be very talkative and upbeat, with smiles on their faces, which I take it means that they are voting for Obama, and they know their guy is going to win. With the way things have been going, Republicans surely must be suffering various degrees of depression.

[RG5626]

I saw an Obama sign on the freeway overpass on the way to work this morning. It said "Today, Hope Turns Into Change".

[jadedat52]

I guess all of Johnny's Town Hall Meetings in NH really paid off.....

[CaliTLC]

Remember, it's Barack Obama's fault that McCain didn't get more of those first votes because he didn't participate in the Town Hall Meetings. Oh well.

[faithfully]

8 years ago-he really didn't have so many this time; The NH Union Leader has been running pro-McCain headlines almost every day for the last year-but hopefully Obama will pull it off here.