New Hampshire hamlet tied in first day votes

DIXVILLE NOTCH: Voters in the US hamlet of Dixville Notch launched Election Day in the first minutes of Tuesday with a tied vote, mirroring the incredibly close national polls in the White House race. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each received three ballots in the tiny community in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, which for decades has kicked off Election Day at the stroke of midnight on Monday—hours before the rest of the country's polling stations open. The Democratic vice-president and Republican ex-president have been battling in a tense and exceptionally close race, with opinion polls largely tied. To a gathered crowd of journalists, the vote opened with a rendition of the US national anthem performed on an accordion. Electoral laws in New Hampshire allow municipalities with fewer than 100 residents to open their polling stations at midnight and to close them when all registered voters have fulfilled their civic duty. — AFP