The first six official votes were cast and counted at midnight in New Hampshire’s famous Dixville Notch on Tuesday morning, resulting in a tie between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Dixville Notch has historically voted at midnight in the presidential election with only a handful of registered voters casting their ballot. In 2016, just eight voters participated in the tradition, while only five participated in 2020. This year came down to an even six that split 50/50 for the two candidates: three for Kamala Harris and three for Trump.
While the split might seem trivial, Tuesday morning’s numbers did bode well for Trump in that he improved his standing from both 2016 and 2020. As Breitbart News reported in 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won four votes while Donald Trump only picked up two, with the other two going to then-Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and a write-in for Mitt Romney:
Only eight voters turned up for the traditional early Election Day vote. Almost as many reporters were on hand to record Clinton’s narrow victory.
The Democrat picked up four votes. Republican Donald Trump got two. Libertarian Gary Johnson earned one vote, as did write-in candidate Mitt Romney.
Dixville Notch voters correctly predicted the election outcome in 2000, 2004 and 2008. It missed the last time around, though, going for Romney instead of President Barack Obama.
In 2020, Trump performed poorly in the Dixville Notch election when Joe Biden swept the votes 5 to 0 — the first sweep since Nixon won the vote in 1960. Unlike Nixon, Joe Biden went on to win the 2020 election, breaking precedent.
While the Tuesday morning vote showed no clear winner, some on social media interpreted the tie as a bad omen for Election Day, with many forecasters saying the race will be so close that no clear winner will be decided the night of.
Vice President Kamala Harris warned on Sunday that Americans may experience a repeat of the 2020 election wherein the winner was not decided the same night the polls closed.
In a post on X, Kamala Harris said that while she expects to win on Tuesday, she warned that it “will take time to count every vote.”
“The margins are going to be close, but our campaign is on track to win this election. Americans all across the country are casting their votes in record numbers, ready to turn the page,” the vice president said. “It will take time to count every vote, and there may be swings in the count along the way.”
Whether or not the election goes into the week, both the Trump and Harris campaigns have encouraged supporters to stay in line and cast their vote no matter what. As VerifyThis noted, voters have a legal right to cast their ballot if the polls happened to close while they are still in line.
“All of our sources say all eligible voters have a legal right to vote on Election Day once they’re in line. As long as you get in line before your polling location’s scheduled closing time, you are guaranteed the right to cast your ballot. Even if you’re still waiting in line come closing time, no one can legally turn you away,” it noted.