Dixville Notch, Hart's Location voters go for Obama

Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, where the tradition of having the first Election Day ballots tallied lives on.

Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch. The town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul.

The first Dixville Notch voter, following tradition established in 1948, was picked ahead of the midnight voting and the rest of the town's 21 registered voters followed suit.

The last time the town backed a Democrat was in 1968 when Hubert Humphrey was preferred to Richard Nixon.

President Bush won the town in a landslide in the past two elections. He captured 73 percent of the vote in 2004 (19 residents picked Bush while six chose Sen. John Kerry), and secured 80 percent of the vote in 2000 (21 votes for Bush, five for Al Gore).

Look for extensive coverage of New Hampshire's election today and tonight on UnionLeader.com. The site will be updated regularly with stories, photos, Drew Cline's blog and an editorial commenting on the results.

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