First Voters in Small New Hampshire Towns Give Trump Early Lead

A ballot is posted to the wall as voters wait in line to cast their ballots for the New Hampshire primary at a polling place Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (Photo: AP/David Goldman)

DIXVILLE, N.H. — Donald Trump opened up a small early lead over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, winning over the voters of three New Hampshire precincts 32-25. Under New Hampshire state law, communities with fewer than 100 voters can get permission to open their polls at midnight and close them as soon as all registered voters have cast their ballots.

Polls in the New Hampshire towns of Dixville, Hart’s Location and Millsfield, a proud group of voters first to cast their vote in a presidential election, open just after midnight Tuesday and close as soon as everyone votes.

While Mrs. Clinton won more votes in Dixville and Hart’s Location, Mr. Trump won Millsfield with a 16-4 margin. The New York businessman hopes that’ll be the bigger story on Tuesday, with the Granite State closing fast in the final week of the election.

Libertarian Gary Johnson earned three votes, while Mrs. Clinton’s rival Bernie Sanders, John Kasich and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got write-in votes.

Do they predict the outcome of the state or the race in general. The answer: Dixville Notch has proven unreliable at predicting statewide or national results, but the other towns have roughly the same predictive value. The small town results hold more predictive value in primaries than general elections.