DIXVILLE, N.H. – Election Day has officially arrived in the United States and the nation’s first votes have been counted in a small mountain cabin.
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Continuing a time-honored tradition, the five voters of Dixville Notch cast their votes exactly at midnight on Election Day, closing the polls just a few minutes later to officially beginning the long march toward counting votes across the country.
During most years, Dixville Notch also marks the first votes cast anywhere in the U.S., but with new provisions for the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 98 million Americans have participated in some sort of early voting.
In this year’s vote, Democrat Joe Biden received all five votes for President. Incumbent Republican Chris Sununu took four of five votes for Governor, with the other going to Democrat Dan Feltes. For U.S. Senate, incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen took four of the five votes, with Republican Corky Messner getting the other vote. And Incumbent Democrat Annie Kuster also took four votes in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives race, with Republican Steve Negron getting the other vote.
A lifelong Republican and candidate for governor in Maine in 2010, Les Otten is developer of Dixville’s Balsams Resort the township’s only registered Republican. He voted for Michael Bloomberg during the New Hampshire Presidential Primary and announced on Monday that he would cast his vote for Biden.
For Otten, the vote was rooted in the hope that it could ultimately help Republicans in the long-term, bringing the party back to what he sees as its traditional values of limited government, balanced budgets, support for working families, and being at the forefront of racial justice.
“I am a lifelong Republican voting for Biden for president. I do not agree with him on a lot of issues – but I believe it is time to find what unites us not what divides us. It is time to rebuild the heart of what makes us a great country,” said Otten in a statement on Monday. “That starts with electing leaders of character who are truthful, who put the country’s welfare ahead of all else, and who show respect for all people – regardless of their gender, race, religion, or political beliefs.”
Deep in the heart of Coös County, Dixville Notch is one of three municipalities in the North Country to vote at midnight, but has become the most well-known since it began the tradition in 1960.
Video of the vote can be seen on the Dixville Votes Facebook page.
