The first US election result in a small town is a 3-3 tie

The first result of the 2024 US presidential election – from a tiny community of six residents – has been announced, with a clean split of three votes each for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

In a tradition dating back to 1960, residents of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire cast their votes promptly at midnight (05:00 GMT).

The remote, unincorporated resort town opened its polling station several hours earlier than most of the country and announced its election results just 15 minutes later.

The draw was fitting for such a hard-fought race Small poll numbers make it difficult to say which candidate might actually be ahead.

A crowd of journalists watched as the community opened election day to the tune of The US national anthem was played on an accordion.

One of the voters, Les Otten, was a Republican voting for a Democrat for the first time.

He said he voted for Harris because she promised loyalty to voters while Trump sought loyalty from them. He told the BBC World Service that he did not believe this was the right attitude.

“If the elected person believes that we all have influence and can form the government, then that is very different than him telling us, 'We have to follow what I say'.”

Another voter explained that the northeastern state of New Hampshire is a “purple state” and “very divided.”

In 2020, all six residents voted for Joe Biden, reportedly making him only the second presidential candidate since 1960 to win the city's unanimous support.

The city also voted for this year's Republican presidential candidate, unanimously supporting Nikki Haley.