The Dixville Notch Results Are In

ZHANG CHUANSHI/Xinhua/Landov

The returns are in, at least in one place in the U.S.: Dixville Notch, N.H., where 10 voters lined up at midnight to be the first in the nation to cast their ballots. The whole process took less than a minute. If the tiny town’s results are any indication of nationwide trends, then we’re all in for a long night. The Dixville folks split their votes right down the middle with five for Obama/Biden and five for Romney/Ryan, the first time that's happened since the tradition started in 1960.

If you want a good presidential prognostication, though, it’s best not to rely on Dixville. They’ve only predicted 7 of the past 13 elections correctly, though three of those have been the most recent elections (George W. Bush both times and Obama in ‘08).

For more about the midnight voting tradition, check out this post from the primaries in January.