Midnight In Dixville Notch

The official town timekeeper looked at his watch, which was five minutes fast, and announced that it was time for the voting to begin and the people of Dixville Notch started to cast their ballots.

"This has gotten to be a real tradition here in Dixville Notch," said Ellie Pearson after casting her ballot. "And we take our voting very seriously."

The tradition is for all the registered voters, and this year there were 29, to gather at midnight at the 100-year-old Balsams resort Hotel and make theirs the very first votes cast and counted in the New Hampshire primary.

It only works, of course, if every voter agrees to come and vote at the same time, but the pull of tradition is strong.

The snow was falling heavily in this mountain hamlet, tucked into the far northern reaches of New Hampshire, where, as you spin the dial of your car radio, most of the stations are from Canada and broadcasting in French.

But all the voters came, along with dozens of spectators and a bevy of television cameras to record the action.

Each voter was handed a ballot, pink for the Republican primary and blue for the Democrats. Two children participating in a Kids Vote project joined them, though their choices weren't part of the official tally.

At the stroke of midnight, or more precisely at the stroke of 11:55, they marched passed the television cameras and dropped their ballots into the ballot box.

It only took a few minutes to count them and then came the first announcement: a two-to-one victory for Bill Bradley over Vice President Al Gore.

It was easy to compute that ratio because the actual vote was four votes for Bradley and two for Gore. David Nesh, a first-time Dixville Notch voter, cast one of the Bradley votes.

"Environmental concerns, first and foremost," he explained "I think he's a team player. I think he'd be able to work with the Congress either Republican or Democrat."

Then it was time to announce the Republican results and everyone knew it would be close.

A round of applause went up from supporters of George W. Bush when the announcement came that he had beaten John McCain in this first test of New Hampshire voters, 12 votes to 10.

A lone impolite chuckle went up when it was announced there was one vote for Steve Forbes and the tote board showed zeros next to the names of Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes.

"I thought he was the best candidate," explained Melissa Vashaw, a Bush supporter. "I think he's a fascinating man who has a lot of great ideas that he wants to express and I think that's great."

The Dixville Notch vote sometimes predicts the outcome of the New Hampshire primary, but just as often doesn't. But the people here do take their voting very seriously. "It makes it a more profound experience for me as an American," explained longtime resident Steve Barber. "I take a deeper sense of what my obligation is to consider my own vote with as much attention and cocern for the country and the future of the country as I possibly can."

While it has become a bit of a media spectacle, the tradition in Dixville Notch is also a strong expression of democracy and lack of cynicism as every registered voter trudges through the snow at midnight to make his or her voice heard.

By Bob Fuss