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The tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, is located just 20 miles south of the Canadian border. Home to an idyllic hotel known for its skiing and golfing, the town itself had a population of four at the time of the 2020 census.
But if you happen to be one of those residents, your election day experience is a bit different from most. At the stroke of midnight, you enter the polling place, set up in one of the rooms of the hotel. New Hampshire law states that polls can close if all registered voters have cast ballots. And so, a few minutes later, once all have voted, the polls close. This tradition of Midnight Voting, in place since the 1960s, makes Dixville Notch the first polling place to report results in the New Hampshire primary.
Midnight voting first came into existence to accommodate the schedule of railway workers, who were often unavailable to vote during normal hours. It’s an example of local officials ensuring that the vote is both fair and accessible for voters. Election Integrity is a high priority here at Heritage, and we have been very excited to welcome election integrity expert Don Palmer to the team. We sat down with Don to talk about his thoughts leading into 2026, 2028, and beyond.
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Email us with thoughts, questions, or suggestions: HeritageExplains@heritage.org
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Follow Don Palmer on X: https://x.com/VotingGuy
Michelle Cordero
Tim Doescher