Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
Dixville Notch is a tiny unincorporated community in Dixville township, Coos County, New Hampshire. It sits about 1,800 feet above sea level at the base of mountains, near a mountain pass called Dixville Notch between Dixville Peak and Sanguinary Mountain. It’s located in northern New Hampshire, roughly 20 miles south of the Quebec border, and is part of the Berlin, NH–VT Micropolitan Area. The township had four residents in 2020 (all living in Dixville Notch), with a few more voting residents by 2024.
The village is home to The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, a historic resort on a large 15,000-acre property.
Dixville Notch is best known for its midnight voting tradition in U.S. elections. Since 1960, all registered voters in the precinct gather at midnight to cast ballots at The Balsams, and polls close as soon as everyone has voted. The results are announced right away, which has made the town a national media focus because New Hampshire holds the first primary in the country. The first voter used to be Neil Tillotson, who would watch the clock and drop his ballot at midnight; after his death, the first voter is chosen by random ballot.
Over the years, the results have sometimes matched the national outcome and sometimes did not. Notable recent results include Joe Biden winning in 2020, Nikki Haley winning the 2024 Republican primary (all six voting-age residents), and a 3-3 tie in the 2024 general election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The Dixville Notch voting tradition has been widely reported and is even referenced in popular culture.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:15 (CET).