The first US election result is a three-way tie between Trump and Harris | New Hampshire

The traditional first count of the 2024 US presidential election in the tiny village of Dixville Notch on the northern tip of New Hampshire ended in a deadlock: three votes for Kamala Harris and three for Donald Trump.

It took about 12 minutes to count and certify the votes of the six residents of this tiny community near the Canadian border, which for decades has cast its ballot at midnight on Election Day. The result represents a significant change from four years ago, when all five votes went to Joe Biden.

Dixville Notch in the White Mountains began early voting in 1960. The tradition originated in the nearby town of Hart's Location to accommodate railroad workers who needed to be at work before normal election hours.

While the city's results don't always predict the ultimate winner – Hillary Clinton beat Trump here by four votes to two in 2016 – this time the result is consistent with what most polls say: an extremely close election and an evenly divided electorate.

“This feels about normal,” Tom Tillotson, 79, told the New York Times. His father, Neil Tillotson, began the tradition of early morning voting at his hotel, Balsams Grand Resort, in 1960 and gained free publicity by allowing journalists to use the hotel's telephones to report on the vote count well before exit polls from other areas were available.

All six residents who voted in this year's election live in the former hotel. One of them, Scott Maxwell, expressed surprise at the unexpected outcome of the breakup. “I didn’t expect that,” he told the New York Times. He also admitted that even he was surprised by his vote for Trump.

Les Otten, another voter, told CNN the early release of the results was “a civics lesson for the country,” adding: “If we can help people get out and understand that voting is an important part of their lives.” Being right as an American citizen is perhaps the key to what we do.”