Back to previous post: Schokoladenpudding

Go to Making Light's front page.

Forward to next post: As you are, once was I; as I am, you will be

Subscribe (via RSS) to this post's comment thread. (What does this mean? Here's a quick introduction.)

January 10, 2012

Live from Dixville Notch 2012
Posted by Jim Macdonald at 12:03 AM * 51 comments

It’s the New Hampshire State Primary! Dixville Notch reports First in the State for the First in the Nation primary.

Republicans:

  • Michele Bachmann -
  • Bear Betzler -
  • Timothy Brewer -
  • Herman Cain -
  • Mark Callahan -
  • Randy Crow -
  • Hugh Cort -
  • L. John Davis, Jr. -
  • Keith Drummond -
  • Newt Gingrich -1
  • Stewart J. Greenleaf -
  • Christopher V. Hill -
  • Jon Huntsman - 2
  • Gary Johnson -
  • Fred Karger -
  • Jeff Lawman -
  • Benjamin Linn -
  • Andy Martin -
  • Michael J. Meehan -
  • Ron Paul -1
  • Rick Perry -
  • Joe Robinson -
  • Buddy Roemer -
  • Mitt Romney - 2
  • Kevin Rubash -
  • Rick Santorum -
  • Joe Story -
  • Linden Swift -
  • James A. Vestermark -
  • Vern Wuensche -
  • Write-in -
Democrats:
  • Ed Cowan -
  • Bob Ely -
  • Craig Freis -
  • Bob Greene -
  • John D. Haywood -
  • Robert B. Jordan -
  • Barack Obama -3
  • Cornelius Edward O’Connor -
  • Edward T. O’Donnell -
  • Darcy Richardson -
  • Randall Terry -
  • Aldous C. Tyler -
  • Vermin Supreme -
  • John Wolfe, Jr. -
  • Write-in -

See also:
Making Light: Live from The Balsams and Making Light: Live from The Balsams 2—Electric Boogaloo

Comments on Live from Dixville Notch 2012:
#1 ::: Debra Doyle ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 12:10 AM:

Only 9 voters in Dixville Notch this year. The (one hopes) temporary closing of The Balsams has reduced the voting population.

#2 ::: Steven desJardins ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 12:35 AM:

Wait, Vermin Supreme and Newt Gingrich are different people?

#3 ::: Tom Whitmore ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 12:35 AM:

I'm kinda glad the Republicans don't outnumber the Democrats by two to one in all the parts of the country.

#4 ::: James D. Macdonald ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 12:37 AM:

A goodly number of #OCCUPY folks out front, looking cold and unhappy. No one that I recognized. I don't know where they came from.

The local protesters were opposing Northern Pass, an electric project that threatens to kill what's left of the tourist industry here.

No one famous was present. No candidates' family members that I saw. Foreign press outnumbered US press.

#5 ::: Xopher HalfTongue ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 12:58 AM:

Randall Terry is on the ballot as a Democrat?!? O...kay.

#6 ::: Doug Burbidge ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 01:39 AM:

Somebody want to update the Wikipedia page with those results?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixville_Notch

#7 ::: Dave Luckett ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 01:40 AM:

Wait, the opening batsman for the Australian Test Cricket team is standing as a Democrat in New Hampshire?

Well, I suppose quick footwork, ready evasion, a sure certainty of position and being impossible to stump are all required for both jobs.

#8 ::: Jim Macdonald ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 01:56 AM:

Someone else can update Wikipedia.

Note that we scooped CNN by two minutes. The Huffington Post by four minutes. The Boston Globe by 18 minutes. The New York Daily News ("Live Updating" ha!) by 31 minutes. And Fox News by 47 minutes.

Making Light for the win!

#9 ::: Dave Bell ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 02:02 AM:

I wonder which of that list, Jim, was watching Making Light, rather than sending a reporter.

#10 ::: Jim Macdonald ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 02:58 AM:

Incidentally, Dixville has two Democrats, three Republicans, and four Independents this year.

Notice that, since last election, Dixville has lost half its population (The Balsams closed).

It was bought, that sale fell through, and it's been bought again.

The ski area is closed too.

#11 ::: Chris Lawson ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 04:27 AM:

I don't like Hunstman's conservative politics much, but it's nice to see someone who believes in science and pluralism get a couple of Republican votes.

#12 ::: Braxis ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 05:15 AM:

In the US it's legal to report on the returns before the polls are closed?

In the UK this could result in six months in jail or a £5000 fine, under the theory that it may influence those that have not yet cast their votes. I can see that, with all the time-zones and people and everything, it would be more difficult to co-ordinate this in the US, but it feels weird to me.

The USA is a foreign country. They do things differently over there...

#13 ::: Dave Bell ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 05:40 AM:

Braxis, as I recall, the results of a Primary in a New Hampshire district can be reported when all the voters in the district have cast their vote. And Dixville Notch is a tiny district which organises to get the votes cast and the poll counted at the earliest possible moment.

And then Jim tells us.

#14 ::: Braxis ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 06:10 AM:

Reading, Making Light: Live from The Balsams 2—Electric Boogaloo, the same applies Presidential/Congressional elections too?

In the UK, Jim would now be the target of a police investigation into his inappropriate behaviour!

#15 ::: tykewriter ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 06:13 AM:

Was I the only one to start singing "...Old Uncle Newt Gingrich and aaaall..."?

#16 ::: abi ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 06:54 AM:

Braxis @12:
under the theory that it may influence those that have not yet cast their votes. I can see that, with all the time-zones and people and everything, it would be more difficult to co-ordinate this in the US, but it feels weird to me.

Speaking as a Californian, watching national races be called one way or another before our polls closed was always very...vexing to me. And it reduced the votes on local issues, unless there were big enough state issues to bring people to the polls notwithstanding the pre-determined outcome of the national stuff.

(Of course, speaking as a Californian, we were also always very predictable about which party would get our electoral votes.)

I gather it's even more annoying in Hawaii.

#17 ::: Bruce Cohen (Speaker To Managers) ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 07:39 AM:

abi @ 15:

I gather it's even more annoying in Hawaii.

Be glad that the US didn't hold onto its protectorate in the Philippines and then make that a state along with Alaska and Hawai'i.

#18 ::: Ian Osmond ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 07:41 AM:

Steven desJardins @2

Actually, I've been following Vermin Supreme. He's got some interesting points. His main focus is on dental hygiene, and he wants to be clear that there is no reason to fear the Dental Police under his regime kicking down your door at 3 AM and hauling you off to Dental Reeducation camp, as long as you brush your teeth.

He has a two-part energy policy: first, he's going to provide every American with a pony (and it will be mandatory to keep your pony with you at all times, for federal identification purposes), and he expects to be able to harvest the manure for methane production.

The other prong of his policy is to use zombies on treadmills to generate electricity.

All in all, there's a lot to like on his platform.

#19 ::: Bruce Cohen (Speaker To Managers) ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 07:42 AM:

tykewriter @ 14:

I might have if I hadn't been trapped in the last few days by a mindo that makes me read his name as "G-g-grinch".

#20 ::: Jon Meltzer ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 08:29 AM:

No votes for Mike Check?

#21 ::: Ken Houghton ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 09:58 AM:

So the four independents either (1) voted for Huntsman and Romney, with Gingrich and Paul splitting the Republican vote (2) voted for Huntsman, Paul, and Gingrich, with Romney sweeping the Republican vote, (3) voted for Romney, Paul, and Gingrich, with Huntsman sweeping the Republican vote, or (4) voted for all four, with the Republican vote splitting between Romney and Huntsman.

Cue Fox News analysis for the rest of the day...

#22 ::: Jim Macdonald ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 10:18 AM:

Clearly, one of the Independents voted for Obama.

My guess, and this is strictly a guess, is that the registered Republicans voted for Romney and Gingrich, while the remaining three Independents voted for Huntsman and Paul.

Here, Independents can vote in any race, while registered party members can only vote in that party's primary. Around 40% of the state is registered Independent.

I myself am an Independent. Last time around I voted in the Democratic primary, since that was the more interesting race. This time around, I'll be voting in the Republican primary. Again, the more interesting race.

(In the USA, voting precincts can announce the totals as soon as all of the votes are counted. That usually takes hours-to-days, though, so it's no problem with influencing the vote elsewhere. The national media has taken to refraining from "calling the race" before the polls close on the west coast. Used to be, they'd call the race before the polls even closed in the state, and we'd get things like "CBS is calling NameOState for Candidate with 12% of the districts reporting....")

I suppose our election laws on this point predate the invention of the telegraph, and what state wants to be the first to change?

#23 ::: Wrenlet ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 10:56 AM:

And Fox News has decided to focus on... the lack of Black Panthers. I wish I was even capable of surprise.

#24 ::: BigHank53 ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 11:53 AM:

Listen, the good people of Dixville Notch would be grateful for any kind of panther, two legs or four: they could use some graduate students up there doing research. Biology, sociology, ethnology--nobody's feeling choosy.

Fox News drilled a hole in the bottom of the barrel a while ago. The only question left is how deep the hole will get before it collapses.

#25 ::: The Modesto Kid ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 12:47 PM:

Steven @2 -- did you catch Mr. Supreme turning Randall Terry gay through the application of pink glitter?

#26 ::: Alan Sandercock ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 01:38 PM:

I'm curious about where the actual voting takes place for those 9 people. It looks as if the main central gathering point is at the Balsams Grand Resort but if that is closed...

#27 ::: robert west ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 01:52 PM:

Bruce, @17: since at latest estimate there are 100 million people in the Philippines, roughly 3 times the number in California, Filipino statehood might actually make the situation better, since it would be very difficult to call elections before their votes were reported.

Except that the Philippines are on the other side of the international date line, so their results would come in first. Ouch.


#28 ::: Debra Doyle ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 02:29 PM:

Alan@26: They opened up the Ballot Room at the Balsams special for the occasion.

The reporters all had to find other places to stay, though.

#29 ::: Linkmeister ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 02:39 PM:

abi, we Hawai'i voters are still bitter about Jimmy Carter conceding to Reagan in 1980 before our polls had even closed. Not that our Presidential votes would have made a difference, but that downballot races might/could/possibly were affected.

#31 ::: Bill Stewart ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 05:09 PM:

Abi@16, I'm calling both the California Democratic Primary and the California General Election for Obama. Republican primary's still too close to call, but if I were betting I'd bet a beer that Romney takes it, and a soft drink on Ron Paul coming in second.

Braxis@12, while election rules certainly are different here in the US, Dixville Notch is extra special - the town voters all show up and vote a minute after midnight, and then they can close the polls and announce results because everybody who's eligible to vote has done so. Combined with New Hampshire's rules allowing independents to vote in any party's primary, it can lead to interesting results; back in 1992 the Libertarians won (Andre Marrou, who'd been Ron Paul's vice presidential running mate in the 1988 election, campaigned in Dixville Notch and got more votes than either of the major parties.)

#32 ::: Paula Helm Murray ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 06:32 PM:

This is nice to roll out about now. The Austin Lounge Lizards have a plethora of songs that I love, this one is pretty special and was created last time we had a pest trying to run for office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j01Wkw8Lqu4
Gingrich the Newt

Totally safe for work.

#33 ::: Braxis ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 07:46 PM:

Abi@16 As someone with a northern working town heritage, who votes in a rural oxfordshire constituency, I can see where you're coming from. It's sometimes hard to convince yourself that it's worth the effort to vote.

In the UK, polling stations open at 07:00 and close at 22:00 on the dot. Ballot boxes are then transported to the constituency counting office and the count commences. The record is currently held by Sunderland South where, in 2005, 32,000 ballots were counted in 43 minutes.

The question is, given that the lads and lasses of the north east of England managed to count around 750 votes per minute, why was Dixville Nox so slow?

#34 ::: P J Evans ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 09:02 PM:

The LA Times said that the Balsams was closed for remodeling (missing all the interesting stuff there). I didn't notice the timestamp on the story, since I was reading it after 7am this morning.

#35 ::: Henry Troup ::: (view all by) ::: January 10, 2012, 09:50 PM:

In Canada, (we don't have anything west of Haida Gwai) we tweak the poll hours to moderate the time zone effects on national elections:

Newfoundland Time Zone: 8:30 am - 8:30 pm (UTC 1200-0000)
Atlantic Time Zone: 8:30 am - 8:30 pm (UTC 1230-0030)
Eastern Time Zone: 9:30 am - 9:30 pm (UTC 1430-0130)
Central Time Zone: 8:30 am - 8:30 pm (UTC 1430-0130)
Mountain Time Zone: 7:30 am - 7:30 pm (UTC 1430-0130)
Pacific Time Zone: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm (UTC 1500-0300)

There's a three-hour maximum difference, still, but instead of five time blocs, there are only three. And the vast mass of the population's votes are still being counted when B.C. polls close.

OTOH, I recall Dan Rather making a passionate appeal for people in California to get out and vote against Reagan. The equivalent doesn't happen here.

Last Canadian election there was a #tweettheresults which trended worldwide - punctuated with humour like

"Darth vader is Luke skywalkers father #tweettheresults"
- still available online, and the early stuff was mostly humorous.

#36 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 12:46 AM:

Vermin Supreme has changed parties? This shakes the foundations of my world.

#37 ::: Stefan Jones ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 12:53 AM:

Romeny's acceptance speech was astonishing in its talking-pointfullness.

#38 ::: Stefan Jones ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 12:55 AM:

Romeny's acceptance speech was astonishing in its talking-pointfullness.

#39 ::: Jules ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 05:48 AM:

Henry Troup @35 -- I haven't checked what exactly the problem is, but there seems to be something wrong with your UTC conversions. The local time periods are all twelve hours long, but the UTC versions for Eastern, Central and Mountain are only eleven hours long, so unless your elections coincide with a DST change something must be wrong.

#40 ::: Ken Brown ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 02:24 PM:

Stefan@37/8: "talking-pointfullness"? Maybe us Brits are just too cynical about sentimental rhetoric but it reads as barfworthy and hollow over hear. Or are my irony meters miscalibrated and that's what you meant?

Hi, Henry@35 :-)

#41 ::: The Modesto Kid ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 02:27 PM:

Ken @40 -- seems to this reader like "talking-pointfullness" is an approximate synonym for "barfworvy and hollow"

#42 ::: geekosaur ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 02:39 PM:

Buzzword bingo, right-wing politics style.

#43 ::: Stefan Jones ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 04:24 PM:

What geekosaur said.

#44 ::: Ken Brown ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 04:44 PM:

Mea culpa! I'd just been reading another forum where a right-wing Republican was going on about the speech being moving and inspiring, so maybe I had some conceptual bleed.

#45 ::: Henry Troup ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 10:37 PM:

Jules@39 - I think I got the closing time wrong (which is the important one) for the middle zones, and it's 0230 UTC so there's only a half hour between closing the polls in most of the land area and then in B.C.

It's a long day for poll staff any way you slice it though.

#46 ::: Erik Nelson ::: (view all by) ::: January 11, 2012, 11:43 PM:

If the town got any smaller, you wouldn't have secret ballots.

#47 ::: Paul A. ::: (view all by) ::: January 12, 2012, 11:37 AM:

Ken Brown @ #44:

If it helps, the first time I read it I saw "pointful" and thought "opposite of pointless"; I had to re-read it to grasp that "talking-pointful" is closer to a synonym.

#48 ::: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey ::: (view all by) ::: February 09, 2016, 11:05 AM:

I'd been secretly hoping for a 2016 update.

#49 ::: Mary Aileen ::: (view all by) ::: February 09, 2016, 11:19 AM:

Bill Higgins (48): So had I.

#50 ::: P J Evans ::: (view all by) ::: February 09, 2016, 12:39 PM:

Yes, I was kind of hoping for one also.

#51 ::: Lori Coulson ::: (view all by) ::: February 09, 2016, 02:26 PM:

Me too!

Welcome to Making Light's comment section. The moderators are Avram Grumer, Teresa & Patrick Nielsen Hayden, and Abi Sutherland. Abi is the moderator most frequently onsite. She's also the kindest. Teresa is the theoretician. Are you feeling lucky?

Comments containing more than seven URLs will be held for approval. If you want to comment on a thread that's been closed, please post to the most recent "Open Thread" discussion.

You can subscribe (via RSS) to this particular comment thread. (If this option is baffling, here's a quick introduction.)

Post a comment.
(Real e-mail addresses and URLs only, please.)

HTML Tags:
<strong>Strong</strong> = Strong
<em>Emphasized</em> = Emphasized
<a href="http://www.url.com">Linked text</a> = Linked text

Spelling reference:
Tolkien. Minuscule. Gandhi. Millennium. Delany. Embarrassment. Publishers Weekly. Occurrence. Asimov. Weird. Connoisseur. Accommodate. Hierarchy. Deity. Etiquette. Pharaoh. Teresa. Its. Macdonald. Nielsen Hayden. It's. Fluorosphere. Barack. More here.















(You must preview before posting.)

Dire legal notice
Making Light copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden. All rights reserved.