HAMPSHIRE WHO WILL CAST THE FIRST PRIMARY VOTES ON WEDNESDAY
BEFORE MOST OF THE STATE HEADS
TO THE POLLS IN THE MORNING.
>> MY NAME IS TOM, I’M THE
ACCOUNT MODERATOR WHO IS THE
PERSON WHO IS IN CHARGE OF
RUNNING ELECTIONS HERE.
I GUESS IT’S GOING ON 50 YEARS
THIS YEAR.
THIS YEAR. >> WE JUST CAME UP HERE TO
DIXVILLE NOTCH TO COME TO THE
BALL SON’S RESORT WHICH IS WHERE
THE MIDNIGHT VOTING TRADITION
WOULD HAPPEN STARTING IN 1960 IN
DIXVILLE.
DIXVILLE. IT’S HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES OF
THE RESORT AS WELL AS OBSERVERS
WOULD COME IN TO OBSERVE THE
MIDNIGHT VOTE HAPPENED WHICH
ORIGINALLY STARTED WITH NINE
VOTERS, NINE RESIDENTS IN THE
TOWN THAT WOULD COME TO VOTE AT
MIDNIGHT.
MIDNIGHT. THIS TRADITION ALMOST DIDN’T
HAPPEN THIS TIME AROUND.
THEY NARROWLY HIT THE THRESHOLD
THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF FIVE
RESIDENTS TO HOLD THE MIDNIGHT
VOTE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE
IN DIXVILLE FOR THIS 2020
PRIMARY CYCLE.
PRIMARY CYCLE. WE CAME HERE TO MEET WITH THOSE
RESIDENTS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT’S
SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS MIDNIGHT
VOTING TRADITION IN DIXVILLE
NOTCH.
NOTCH. >> FIRST, OF COURSE, NEW
HAMPSHIRE WHERE A QUARTER OF A
MILLION VOTERS ARE GOING TO THE
POLLS ON THIS PRESIDENTIAL
PRIMARY DAY.
PRIMARY DAY. RESIDENTS OF THE TINY TOWN OF
DIXVILLE NOTCH UP NEAR THE
CANADIAN BORDER CAST THEIR
BALLOTS JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT.
>> MY NAME IS LESLIE AND I’VE
LIVED WITHIN 45 MILES OF THIS
SPOT SINCE 1972.
I’M A RESIDENT OF DIXVILLE ALONG
WITH FOUR OTHER FOLKS AND GOING
TO HELP HOST THE FIRST IN THE
NATION VOTING.
NATION VOTING. >> BEHIND ME IS THE HAIL HOUSE
WHERE DIXVILLE NOTCH’S FIVE
RESIDENTS WILL COME TO VOTE IN
THE 2020 FIRST IN THE NATION
PRIMARY AT MIDNIGHT.
THIS ALMOST DIDN’T HAPPEN.
IN 2016 AFTER THE ELECTION THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW
HAMPSHIRE INVESTIGATED DIXVILLE
NOTCH TO MAKE SURE EVERY
RESIDENT WHO VOTED WAS ACTUALLY
A RESIDENT WHO LIVED HERE.
THE TOWN HERE IS QUITE SERIOUS
ABOUT KEEPING THEIR MIDNIGHT
TRADITION ALIVE.
TRADITION ALIVE. >> DAD WAS THE -- HE BOUGHT THE
HOTEL IN 1954.
THE HOTEL HAS GONE THROUGH A LOT
OF EVOLUTIONS OVER THAT PERIOD
OF TIME, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT EVOLVED WAS THE MIDNIGHT
VOTING.
VOTING. IT WASN’T THIS TIME FOR THE
PRIMARY IN 1960, BUT IT WAS IN
TIME FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION.
THAT’S HOW DIXVILLE VOTING
STARTED.
STARTED. SO THIS WILL BE 60 YEARS.
>> I DID VOTE HERE IN 2016 AND
IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO --
BEFORE MAKING THE COMMITMENT TO
BE HERE, THIS IS SOMETHING I WAS
THINKING ABOUT AND WORKING ON.
I DIDN’T RECOGNIZE AN UNDERSTAND
UNTIL TOM CALLED ME AND SAID,
DUDE, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE GOING TO
HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE WE’RE DOWN
TO FOUR.
TO FOUR. IT’S KIND OF LIKE THE STARTING
GUN FOR THE VOTING PROCESS FOR
PICKING OUR PRESIDENT.
THERE IS AN ICONIC PHOTO THAT
EVERYBODY TAKES AT THE STROKE OF
MIDNIGHT OF THE FIRST VOTER
DROPPING HIS BALLOT INTO THE
BALLOT BOX.
BALLOT BOX. >> HERE IS A LITTLE TOWN STUCK
IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE WHERE
EVERYBODY IN TOWN, THERE’S ONLY
FIVE OF US THIS ELECTION, BUT
IT’S BEEN UP TO 30, THE MID 30s.
EVERYBODY GETS UP AT MIDNIGHT
AND THEY COME AND THEY VOTE
100%.
100%. YOU KNOW, THIS COUNTRY HAS A --
CONTINUES TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH
VOTER TURNOUT, MAYBE IT WILL BE
HIGHER THIS YEAR BECAUSE THINGS
ARE SO DIVIDED BUT WHO KNOWS.
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IF
EVERYBODY GOT OUT TO VOTE WE
WOULD HAVE A MUCH BETTER
PROCESS.
PROCESS. >> IMAGINE THE RESULTS THAT WE
WOULD HAVE, IMAGINE HOW OUR
COUNTRY WOULD BE GOVERNED IF ALL
OF US PARTICIPATED.
>> UNTIL THE LAST ELECTION, NO
ONE BECAME PRESIDENT WITHOUT
WINNING THEIR PARTY’S PRIMARY
VOTE IN DIXVILLE.
TRUMP DID NOT WIN THE VOTE HERE
IN DIXVILLE SO WE BROKE THAT
TRADITION IN ’16.
OF COURSE, WE BROKE A LOT OF
TRADITIONS IN ’16.
I COME OVER HERE, YOU KNOW, AND
LOOK AT THE PHOTOS AND IT’S LIKE
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.
THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE
BUSHES, BOTH BUSHES, IS A
SPECIAL MEMORY.
SPECIAL MEMORY. JOHN McCAIN CAME HERE A LOT.
HE GOT TO BE QUITE GOOD FRIENDS
WITH MY DAD, SPENT A FAIR AMOUNT
OF TIME WITH HIM.
THIS IS HOW THE PRESIDENTIAL
PROCESS USED TO BE WHERE
CANDIDATES REALLY WERE
CANDIDATES.
CANDIDATES. THEY CAME OUT, THEY SHOOK HANDS,
NOW IT’S ALL BEEN REPLACED BY
TELEVISION PRETTY MUCH.
>> I REMEMBER MISCOUNTING THE
VOTE IN FRONT OF MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE BECAUSE WE COUNT THE VOTE
IN PUBLIC SO THERE IS A BALLOT
AND, YOU KNOW, WE SAY THE NAME
AND DO A CHECK MARK AND STUFF
LIKE THAT AND A REPORTER THAT
WAS FILMING SAID, DIDN’T YOU
MISCOUNT.
MISCOUNT. MAYBE.
MAYBE. WE WENT BACK OVER.
YEAH, WE DID.
WE MISCOUNTED THE VOTE.
WILL IT HAPPEN AGAIN IN 2024?
THE HOTEL DEVELOPMENT GOES ON WE
MAY BE TOO BIG TO DO IT.
THERE IS A PHYSICAL PRACTICAL
LIMIT.
LIMIT. TOO LITTLE OR TOO MANY, YOU
CAN’T DO IT.
IF WE STILL HAVE THAT SWEET SPOT
IN THE MIDDLE, HOPEFULLY WE CAN