Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Dixville Notch and Hart's Location

Voting was underway in the New Hampshire primary at midnight.

Mitt Romney pulled into the lead.

From FOX News:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a small lead in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary after two tiny towns cast their ballots shortly after midnight Tuesday.

The voting kicked off in the small village of Dixville Notch, whose residents are famous for being the first to cast their votes.

Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman tied with two votes each in the town. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Congressman Ron Paul each got one. President Obama got three votes.

The small town only has nine registered voters.The nine residents who cast their ballots include three registered Republicans and two registered Democrats. Four other voters haven't declared a party.

In the town of Hart's Location, which has a population of 41, Romney gained a small lead.

He received five votes, Paul received four votes, Huntsman two votes and Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Gingrich one each, according to WMUR-TV. Obama received ten votes, The Union Leader reported.

That gave Romney a total seven votes, while Paul picked up five votes, Huntsman four votes, Gingrich two votes and Perry a lone vote.

Both villages opened their polling places at midnight, a tradition that began so railway workers could vote before their early morning shifts.

This is silly.

Some traditions should die. The Dixville Notch and Hart's Location midnight voting is completely unnecessary.

It's just a publicity stunt, part of the circus of selecting a president.

This is going to be a long year.

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