Election Day 2024 has arrived, as millions of Americans prepare to head to the polls and cast their ballots in Hanover and around the nation.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump head into polls statistically deadlocked, in what has become one of the closest presidential elections in modern history. New Hampshire voters are also deciding on a host of state and local races. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and former Democratic Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig are vying for the governor’s mansion, in what many prognosticators have called the closest gubernatorial race of the cycle. Meanwhile, in the second Congressional District, Maggie Goodlander and Lily Tang Williams are competing to replace retiring Rep. Annie Kuster ’78.
Watch here for live updates from the polls in Hanover and the greater Upper Valley throughout the day.
Want to learn more from The Dartmouth throughout election day? Check out the results of our 2024 election survey, our analysis on whether New Hampshire is a swing state this year and campus preparations for the election. Also, take a look at our guide to today’s races if you’d like a breakdown of who’s on Hanover’s ballot.
2:05 a.m.: Election Day comes to a close
Varun Swaminathan / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Voters cast 7,234 ballots in Hanover this election, favoring Democrats across the board.
In national elections, Hanover residents overwhelmingly supported Vice President Kamala Harris for president and Maggie Goodlander for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.
In Hanover, Harris received 84.9% of the vote and Goodlander 83.4% of the vote. Harris and Goodlander won the statewide vote as well, the Associated Press called.
At the state level, Hanover supported the Democratic candidate for governor, Joyce Craig, with 79% of the vote, but former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., prevailed in New Hampshire and will succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.
Due to long registration lines at certain times of the day, additional volunteers were deputized to assist with registering voters. Around 1,000 people registered to vote on Election Day. Overall, voting in Hanover went smoothly.
For more in-depth reporting, scroll through our live Election Day coverage below.
1:28 a.m.: Harris wins New Hampshire
Arizbeth Rojas / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Vice President Kamala Harris has won the state of New Hampshire and will receive all four electoral votes, the Associated Press called at 1:16 a.m. Of the 88% reporting, Harris has received 51% of the votes counted, while former President Donald Trump has received 48%.
A poll conducted by students and faculty through the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy found that 61.9% of New Hampshire voters planned to cast ballots for Harris, while 33.5% would vote for Trump. Despite the poll’s name — “The Dartmouth Poll” — The Dartmouth newspaper was not affiliated with the study or its naming.
1:17 a.m.: 2nd Congressional District race called for Maggie Goodlander
Kelsey Wang / The Dartmouth Staff
The AP called the 2nd Congressional District for Democratic candidate Maggie Goodlander at 1:07 a.m. Goodlander currently leads 53.5% — 186,010 votes — to Republican candidate Lily Tang Williams’s 161,529 votes.
Tang Williams conceded to Goodlander earlier in the night before the race was called.
12:40 a.m.: Lily Tang Williams concedes race for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District
Kelsey Wang / The Dartmouth Staff
Republican gubernatorial candidate Lily Tang Williams has conceded to Democratic candidate Maggie Goodlander, according to an interview with WMUR.
“When you look at the numbers, it’s just not going to put us in the finish line,” Tang Williams said. “When it’s time to move on, to congratulate your opponent who won the victory, I think that’s [the] right thing to do.”
Tang Williams added that she will “continue to fight to save the American Dream” by being the voice of “immigrants” against “progressivism and socialism.”
“But tonight is Maggie’s night,” Tang Williams said. “We should say congratulations and enjoy her win.”
As of 12:40 a.m., the AP has not called the race for Goodlander.
12:26 a.m.: Official Hanover vote favors Democrats down the ballot
Annabelle Zhang / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
In total, 7,234 votes were cast in Hanover — 5,901 on Election Day and 1,333 absentee ballots, according to official results. The Harris-Walz ticket earned 84.9% of the presidential vote, or 6,049 votes, compared to the Trump-Vance ticket’s 14%, or 995 ballots. Third-party candidates received 75 votes.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Manchester, N.H., mayor Joyce Craig, who conceded her loss earlier this evening, received 79% of the vote, or 5,450 ballots. Republican governor-elect and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., received 19.7% of the Hanover vote, or 1,360 ballots.
In the still-undeclared race to represent New Hampshire’s 2nd congressional district, Democrat Maggie Goodlander received 5,815 votes, or 83.4% of the Hanover vote, while Republican Lily Tang Williams received 1,161 votes, or 16.6%.
All four Democratic candidates for state representative — activist Terry Spahr, incumbent Mary Hakken-Phillips, Dartmouth government professor and incumbent Russell Muirhead and Dartmouth lecturer Ellen Rockmore — have won their seats. The four were the only named candidates on the ballot.
Democrat Karen Liot Hill ’00 won 5,430 votes, or 82.5% of the vote, compared to Republican Kim Strathdee’s 1,148 votes, or 17.5%, in the race to serve as executive councilor for the 2nd Executive Council district. Similarly, Democrat Suzanne M. Prentiss won 81% of the vote for state senator compared to Republican John J. McIntyre’s 19%.
County-level positions also saw overwhelming support for Democrats. Democrat Jillian E. Meyers received 78.4% of the vote for sheriff compared to Republican Todd Matthew Eck’s 21.6%. Martha Ann Hornick, who was listed on the ballot as both the Democratic and the Republican candidate, received 6,295 votes for county attorney.
11:39 p.m.: Lyme votes for Harris, Goodlander, Craig
Varun Swaminathan / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
In Lyme, voters cast 1,249 ballots, including 263 absentee ballots, according to final results. The Harris-Walz ticket earned 84.8% of the vote — 1,050 votes — compared to 173 votes for Trump-Vance and 14 votes for third-party candidates.
In other elections, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Manchester, N.H. mayor Joyce Craig received 79.6% of the vote, and Democratic congressional candidate Maggie Goodlander received 84.4% of the vote.
Down-ballot, Democrats received wide majorities in every race — every Democrat received at least 900 votes. The best performing Republican, sheriff candidate Todd Matthew Eck, received 247 votes but lost to Democrat Jillian E. Myers.
A constitutional amendment to raise the mandatory retirement age for sheriffs and judges received 558 votes, or 51.3%. The amendment must receive a two-thirds majority of the state to be adopted, according to the New Hampshire Constitution.
Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, R-S.C., received four out of six write-in votes for president.
11:09 p.m.: Students await results
Devon Schindler ’27 and Juliet Willems ’28
As national results roll in, Dartmouth students wait with mixed feelings. Dartmouth Political Union president Mac Mahoney ’26 said members of the DPU have “very different feelings.” While some are “excited,” others are “nervous,” he explained.
“The best part about [DPU] being a non-partisan organization is that we’re non-partisan, right? So nobody really falls on the same line,” he said. “I think there are definitely some people who are very concerned. There are some people who aren’t concerned at all.”
Mahoney added that he expects to “wait a while” for results to come in, pointing to the 2020 election — when the presidential victor was announced on Nov. 7, four days after Election Day.
“I have a feeling we’re probably going to be in a similar situation this cycle unless one of the candidates completely sweeps, which I don’t think is going to happen, but it’s definitely a possibility,” he said.
Other students have also been tuned into election coverage. At the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy’s watch party, students are divided on their expectations for the race’s outcome. Peruvian student Maia Bazo ’28 said it has been a “pretty interesting time to be an international student.”
“I think one of the biggest elements for me is not only being an international student, but being one from Latin America, and knowing that the Latino community here in the United States could be really affected … depending on the candidate that is elected,” Bazo said.
Allison Markman ’28 said she was “extremely nervous” while watching the results live.
“I always knew it was a toss-up,” she said. “It’s honestly … unfathomable how the country supports Trump, … but I did know that … was the reality of America.”
For Anabel Bakala ’27, initial hope turned to nervousness, and watching the results live has been “scarier than [she had] imagined it.”
“Everyone was calling it close,” she said. “I knew it was gonna be close. But I think I was kind of hopeful. I was thinking, ‘Oh, they’re exaggerating how close it is.’ But now I’m not so sure.”
10:55 p.m.: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88, D-N.Y., reelected for third Senate term
Varun Swaminathan / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
At 10:12 p.m., the AP projected that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88 will win re-election to the U.S. Senate. Gillibrand defeated Republican Michael Sapraicone.
With 76% of votes reported, Gillibrand currently leads Sapraicone by 19.9 points.
10:38 p.m.: Joyce Craig concedes governor’s race
Varun Swaminathan / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig conceded the race to Republican and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., in a speech in Manchester, N.H.
“Earlier tonight, I called Kelly Ayotte and congratulated her on her victory,” Craig said.
At 10:08 p.m., Craig wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she wished Ayotte “luck in leading our great state.”
At 10:35 p.m., the AP called the race for Ayotte, who currently leads Craig by 5.7 points with 57% of votes being reported.
8:57 p.m.: Josh Stein ’88 wins North Carolina governor’s race
Gianna Totani / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Democratic North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein ’88 has won the North Carolina governor’s race, the Associated Press called. Stein defeated Republican lieutenant governor Mark Robinson, earning 51.5% of the vote.
8:25 p.m.: Preliminary vote counts in Hanover heavily favor Harris-Walz ticket
Sabrina Tiger and Annabelle Zhang / The Dartmouth
A preliminary count of 6,887 ballots — excluding those that could not be read by the vote-counting machines — cast in Hanover recorded 83.4% of the vote, or 5,742 votes, for the Harris-Walz ticket and 14.1% — 971 votes — for Trump-Vance. Seventy-one votes were cast for a third-party candidate, and 58 write-in votes were cast.
In the New Hampshire gubernatorial election, Democrat and former Manchester mayor Joyce Craig received 76.8% of Hanover’s votes, or 5,292 votes, and Republican and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., received 19.4% — 1,338 votes, according to the preliminary results. In the race to represent New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Maggie Goodlander received 80.1% of the vote — 5,519 votes — and Republican Lily Tang Williams received 1,130 votes, or 16.4%.
A previous version of this update calculated percentages incorrectly. The calculations have been corrected.
8:06 p.m.: Community members gather for Rockefeller Center watch party
Emily Fagell / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
More than 40 Dartmouth community members have gathered for an election watch party hosted by the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. The event aims to provide space for students to watch the results with other community members, according to Rockefeller Center public programs and special events assistant director Dvora Greenberg Koelling.
“We knew that some students would prefer to watch the election results come in either on their own or in small intimate groups, but the Rockefeller Center does have a history of providing more of a … way of being in community and watching election results come in,” she said. “… It feels good to be around other people when in such a moment, and I just think it’s a role that Rocky can play.”
According to Greenberg Koelling, the event is screening three media sources: CNN in the Hinman Forum, Fox News in the Class of 1930 room and MSNBC in the Morrison room. She encouraged students to “roam” from space to space.
Oumie Hydara ’27 said she chose to attend the watch party to “hear what [her] classmates have to say.” She and her friends had planned to host their own watch party but decided instead to gather with other community members.
“If we did it with just us, it would be isolated — and part of the college experience is being able to interact and hear about the different diverse perspectives,” she said.
Quantitative social science professor Herbert Chang ’18 said he believes the Rockefeller Center is a “great space.” He learned about the Center’s “open forums” through debate viewing events, he added.
“I think it’s just a really great feeling to watch the election results with students,” Chang said. “I was here as an undergrad between 2014 and 2018, and that was when Trump was elected the first time. Just being here to experience how the campus climate has changed … eight years afterward is quite interesting.”
Greenberg Koelling said the Rockefeller Center will continue to stream results “until there’s no one left in the room.” Organizers provided pizza and other snacks and will be prepared with bagels and donuts tomorrow morning, she added.
“That’s really what we want — is for students to just know that if they want to be in community for these kinds of election-related events and cycles, that we are definitely a good option and we’ll provide you with food, sustenance and a prominent screen that you can tune in on,” Greenberg Koelling said.
7:50 p.m.: Polls close at Lyme School
Emily Kardjian, Varun Swaminathan and Iris WeaverBell / The Dartmouth
At 7 p.m., the polls closed at Lyme School.
According to Lyme town manager Mark Schiffman ’90, 1,013 in-person ballots and 263 absentee ballots were cast. Schiffman added that 76 people “registered to vote for the first time” today and noted that “just over 50” volunteers were present to assist with voting.
The 1,276 ballots cast this year are slightly less than 2020, when 1,305 ballots were cast in Lyme, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State website.
Schiffman estimated that it will take “about an hour and a half” to finish counting all ballots.
7:36 p.m.: Harris wins Vermont
Shena Han / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Vice President Kamala Harris will win Vermont’s three electoral votes, the Associated Press called. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will win reelection to the U.S. Senate. The AP has not yet called results for the Vermont governor’s race or the race for its single at-large district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
7:23 p.m.: Polls close at Hanover High School
Kelsey Wang / The Dartmouth Staff
At 7 p.m., the polls closed at Hanover High School. According to town moderator Jeremy Eggleton, election workers will now break down the “election set-up” and count the votes.
“At least 7,000” people voted in person today, which was “more than” Eggleton said he had seen in his eight years of election experience. He added that “about 1,000” people registered to vote today.
“I think it’s been pretty successful so far,” Eggleton said.
Eggleton added that the election staff was “awesome” and “jump[ed] in” when lines grew long.
“Anytime you have 8,000-plus human interactions, there’s going to be errors in the system that manifest themselves, but I think we corrected them or mitigated them,” Eggleton said.
Julian Sutton ’28 was one of the last voters to cast their ballot in Hanover. A freshman from Connecticut on the Dartmouth football team, Sutton said he “meant to go earlier” but “snuck in after practice.”
“A lot of my teammates are pretty passionate about voting,” he said. “I know one of the seniors on the team worked on the democratic campaign this year, so it made it important for me to go out and vote.”
7:08 p.m.: Approximately 1,700 individuals registered to vote in Hanover
Arizbeth Rojas / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Deputy town clerk Betsy McClain said the Town attempts to register as many voters as possible before election day to “make the voting experience better.” The Supervisors of the Checklist collaborated with Dartmouth Civics to register approximately 700 voters before election day and about 1,000 more today at the polls, according to McClain. Usually, there are three supervisors — Aileen Chaltain, Patricia Dewhirst and Alison Gorman — but due to the large number of same-day registrations, seven additional volunteers were deputized. The process of deputizing a volunteer involves taking an oath and attaining a signature from the town clerk, Roberta Hitchcock.
McClain said one volunteer ran to the town hall five times to retrieve additional first-time voter forms.
According to McClain, the attorney general’s office visited the Hanover polling location for a routine review, which “went smoothly.”
7:07 p.m.: Former Biden administration Chief Economist supports Harris-Walz
Annabelle Zhang / The Dartmouth
Tuck School of Business professor and Lyme resident Emily Blanchard — a leading expert on international economic policy who served as Chief Economist in the Biden administration — said she cast an “easy vote” for Harris because Harris and Walz “stand for sane governance.” She praised their “thoughtful and nuanced” approach to economic policy.
“The world is at a precarious moment,” she said. “Our engagement in global markets is really important. I think Harris and Walz understand the stakes. I frankly worry a great deal about how a Trump administration would approach all [aspects] of economic policy, but especially international economic policy or foreign relations. I don’t like the rhetoric around it.”
Blanchard said she was also “super excited” to vote for Goodlander to represent New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District in the House.
“[Goodlander] is a committed and demonstrated lifelong supporter of civic engagement,” Blanchard said. “From my understanding, she’s come to politics pretty recently. She’s a policy person — I’m a policy person, too — [so] less political, more focused on the issues and how to get things done effectively.”
Blanchard also praised the “depth” of New Hampshire’s electoral options.
“I have enormous respect for both of our gubernatorial candidates — I don’t agree with Kelly Ayotte on everything, but I think she’s a fantastic civil servant,” Blanchard said. “I think it’s really great that New Hampshire has such a great bench of people.”
6:38 p.m.: Lyme sees ‘higher’ turnout than expected
Tierney Flavin and Claudia Shin / The Dartmouth
As of 5:15 p.m., 1,100 in-person ballots had been cast at the Lyme School, according to town moderator Mark Schiffman ’90. He added that more than 200 absentee ballots have been counted since 2 p.m., noting that these numbers are on the “higher side” of the town’s expected turnout.
“A lot of people are voting — which is amazing,” Schiffman said.
Lyme poll volunteer Sue Mackenzie estimated that “50 to 60” voters have registered today in Lyme. She said the demographic of same-day registrants is “all across the board.”
Mackenzie added that the polling place this year is “busier” than in the past, attributing increased traffic to the election being “a very contentious situation.”
That said, Lyme Select Board Member David Kahn said the number of voters at the Lyme polling site has begun to get “less busy” as the station heads into the evening. Khan said he expected an increase in voters after the work day ends.
According to election volunteer Deb Kilhan, the Lyme polling site had tabulated “just under 300” absentee ballots as of 5:27 p.m.
Lyme resident Ursula Slate said she voted for a “straight Democratic ticket.” She said her main concerns in the election were “reproductive rights,” “education” and “the environment.”
“It’s a scary election, but I just hope as many people have come out [to vote] as possible and that the results will be respected,” Slate said.
Lyme resident and nonpartisan poll observer Michael Whitman said he decided to volunteer because he is “interested in the election process and want[s] to help make it clear to people what they need to do.”
“This is really the most extraordinary election we’ve had because of the way the issues have been handled by the various candidates,” Whitman said. “And I’m not here to influence … That’s not the role of a poll worker.”
6:18 p.m.: Hanover counts 6,750 votes, lines slow
Cayla Kwok / The Dartmouth
According to town moderator Jeremy Eggleton, Hanover has counted around 6,750 ballots and has 200 to 300 more ballots to hand-count. In 2020, Hanover saw 7,171 total ballots tabulated after polls closed. Eggleton called today’s turnout “outrageous” and “fantastic.”
“The first four hours of the election were unlike anything I’d ever seen here,” Eggleton said. “It’s definitely cooled off, but there has been a consistently high demand from students.”
While traffic has slowed, Eggleton noted that a “good wave of students” often register in the last two hours before polls close at 7 p.m.
“People get out of work and come vote,” Eggleton added. “… I just hope that we have a smooth election [and] that everything tabulates correctly at the end of the night.”
5:20 p.m.: Hanover election volunteers highlight importance of civic participation
Ben Zhao / The Dartmouth
Geisel School of Medicine neurology professor Arti Gaur said she volunteered to hand out pamphlets about a new amendment on the ballot that would raise the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75. She helps direct people to the polls at the Hanover High School station because it is “the right thing to do.”
“Our town requested volunteers, and we had to all come together,” Gaur said. “... It’s our civic duty.”
Government professor John Carey — who is volunteering to check in pre-registered voters at the polls — said he is volunteering “as a Hanover resident more than as a Dartmouth professor.”
“I teach about elections,” Carey said. “[Volunteering] has been an education. So it’s good for me to know how the rubber hits the road.”
4:53 p.m.: Hanover station continues to run smoothly, majority of interviewees express support for Harris
Jeremiah Rayban and Sophia Yao / The Dartmouth
Despite the large influx of voters, Hanover residents on both sides of the aisle say the election process is running smoothly. Ignacio Ortiz ’23 said he was able to cast his ballot quickly and that “everyone was helpful.” Ortiz added that he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris because of her stance on the environment.
“She plans to continue to support environmental pursuits, and, for me, that’s very important both in a personal and professional standpoint,” Ortiz said.
Deborah Rena Bailey agreed that voting in Hanover was “easy.” She added that she voted for former President Donald Trump.
“Kamala has been in the White House for almost four years,” Rena Bailey said. “What has she done?”
Julia Banuelos ’27 said she felt it was important for her to vote in New Hampshire rather than her home state of California because her vote “means something” here.
“I voted for Kamala Harris,” Banuelos said. “I’m really in support of a lot of her policies and … I’m really excited to vote for the potentially first female president.”
Camila Taylor ’27 said she wanted to exercise her right to vote as an American citizen.
“I wasn’t born in the U.S., and I’m grateful that I have American citizenship and that my vote can do something for the place I live in now,” Taylor said.
Hanover resident Alyssa Pearl said she voted for Harris because she wants her daughters to have “the health care they need.”
“Harris is going to protect the rights of all Americans and help all Americans live better lives,” Pearl said.
Nia Dodge ’27 — a first-time voter — said she was excited about “participating in democracy” by casting her vote for Harris.
“I think [Harris] has got the people’s interest compared to the other candidate,” Dodge said. “I’m proud to be voting for a woman candidate for my first election and also a woman of color — that’s amazing.”
2:50 p.m.: Hanover town moderator expects ‘chaos’
Kelsey Wang / The Dartmouth Staff
In the past few hours, a “shocking number of people” have arrived at Hanover High School to cast their ballots, town moderator Jeremy Eggleton said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Eggleton said. “I’ve been doing this for eight years.”
According to Eggleton, the number of same-day registrations is “a magnitude higher” than same-day registrations in previous years. He added that he approximates that “at least 1,000” people have registered to vote today.
Eggleton said “approximately 5,000” in-person ballots have been cast today so far. The number is “in line within the past — but not by 2:30 p.m.,” he explained.
Eggleton said he expects “chaos” for the rest of the day.
“I mean, it’s an outrageously large number of people voting today,” Eggleton said.
2:45 p.m.: About 700 ballots handed out in Lyme, “comparable” to 2020 election
Varun Swaminathan, Tierney Flavin and Oğuz Kurt / The Dartmouth
According to ballot clerk Paul Klee, roughly 700 ballots had been “handed out” at Lyme School, the Lyme polling station, as of 1:45 p.m.
“The turnout is good,” Lyme assistant moderator Bill Waste said. “I think it looks comparable to when we had our last presidential election.”
Waste — who has volunteered at the polls on Election Day for more than 30 years — said about 250 absentee ballots have been counted, compared to “over 1000” in 2020, when many voted absentee during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of absentee ballots this year is “on par with pre-COVID numbers,” Waste added.
Waste estimated that Lyme will probably count around 1,100 ballots “when everything’s said and done,” which he characterized as a “strong turnout.”
Volunteer greeter Lynne Parshall — who will also volunteer to count ballots after 7 p.m. — said the polls are running “very smoothly.” She added that the counting process lasted “around two and a half hours” in 2020. Parshall also noted there was “a lot of” turnout from “people who don’t regularly vote” and praised the community’s influence on in-person voting on Election Day in Lyme. Lyme has 1,745 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“[Lyme] is so small, and you see all your friends and everybody knows everybody,” Parshall said. “It’s a very social and energizing thing, which I think is good. We don’t have early voting here, but I think even if we did, people would come to vote on Election Day because it’s such a positive experience.”
Lyme resident Eric Furstenberg said the line was “very short” and he did not have to wait “at all.” He added that he had “mixed feelings” about the candidates in the election but his choice was ultimately “clear.”
“Social issues are very important to me … so it was a clear choice,” Furstenberg said. “I voted for Kamala.”
1:58 p.m.: Wait times for same-day registration have significantly increased in last two hours
Jeremiah Rayban, Vidushi Sharma, Kelsey Wang and Arizbeth Rojas / The Dartmouth Staff
There are two lines for same-day registration: one for picking up a voter registration form and another for confirming residency in Hanover and submitting the registration form.
The form pick-up line has an estimated 23 people, while an estimated 74 people are waiting to submit their registration forms to confirm Hanover residency. The latter line extends outside the Hanover High School gymnasium where voting is taking place. James Leslie ’27, who was in the second line, said he had been waiting for 45 minutes.
Liam Kenny ’28 said he has been waiting in line for “almost an hour.” Kenny added that he was not expecting the line to be as long because the busiest times at polls are usually “right before people go to work” and “right after they get out.”
However, Kenny said the wait time for lines is “a good problem to have” because he is “happy” many people are voting.
While Kenny said he believes “New Hampshire will go blue no matter what,” he “cares a lot” about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig winning the governor’s race, which is “up in the air.”
By contrast, the line had approximately eight people at 12:40 p.m.
Chelsea Kuys ’25, who was waiting in line to submit her registration form, said she “just became an American citizen” and felt like she “needs” to vote.
“I think the candidates are polar opposites,” Kuys said. “They’re very different and have very different policies.”
Although Kuys said she was feeling optimistic and that it was an “exciting” election, she noted that she had “concerns [with] both candidates.”
Amedee Conley-Kapoi ’26 said she had been waiting in line for 20 minutes to register to vote. She added that she initially planned to vote in her home state of Hawai’i but “never got to it” because she was busy with midterms.
“Luckily, this is convenient, just being able to come here and do same-day registering,” Conley-Kapoi said.
Conley-Kapoi added that she is registering to vote because she believes everyone’s “voice really does matter.”
“No matter who you’re voting for, it’s important to make sure that you put your voice out there, doing it for yourself and for the next generations,” Conley-Kapoi said.
2:00 p.m.: Dartmouth students encourage patriotism through music
Iris WeaverBell / The Dartmouth
In Hanover, Piper Edwards ’25 and Piper Stevens ’25 played “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on viola and interviewed voters about their reactions for their MUS 45.04, “Music and Social Justice” final project.
Stevens said the response so far has been “very enthusiastic.”
“We’ve only gotten positive comments,” Stephens added. “It’s been a very warm welcome.”
1:23 p.m.: Hanover Police Department on site for security and traffic control
Kelsey Wang / The Dartmouth Staff
Hanover Police Department lieutenant Michael Schibuola said Hanover police officers are assisting with “security at the polling location” and “traffic control” outside Hanover High School.
According to Schibuola, the department worked with the town clerk and Hanover High staff to create a “safe environment” for the high school, where classes are in session during the day.
“Our primary goal is the overall public safety of the area,” Schibuola said. “We’re not involved in the voting in any way.”
Schibuola added that the officers also escorted the ballots to Hanover High before voting opened and will escort the ballots back to Town Hall after voting closes.
The department is expecting a “heavy turnout” because “it’s a presidential election,” Schibuola said.
1:22 p.m.: Professor emerita Ulrike Rainer said she hopes election results will restore 'choices for women’
Kelsey Wang / The Dartmouth Staff
German professor emerita Ulrike Rainer is standing outside Hanover High School with campaign signs for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig and Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Maggie Goodlander. Rainer said she is campaigning because she believes it is important to “get out the vote” and “show support for the candidates you believe in.”
Rainer added that she hopes the election will restore “choices for women again.”
“I’m too old, but I am worried about the young women and some of the restrictive abortion laws that have been put in place,” Rainer said. “I think it’s terrible.”
She added that she opposes the use of “taxpayers’ money” to fund private and religious schools.
“That takes the money away from the public schools,” Rainer said.
12:51 p.m.: 3,831 voters have cast ballots in Hanover
Oğuz Kurt, Arizbeth Rojas, Vidushi Sharma and Tierney Flavin / The Dartmouth
According to election volunteer Ann Malenka ’80 — also a former executive editor of The Dartmouth — 3,831 total in-person ballots have been cast in Hanover so far. That lands at an average of 766 votes per hour with 550 votes from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., according to Hanover Selectboard member and film and media studies professor Jennie Chamberlain.
“This morning, when it was 550 in the first hour, that was considered high,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain added that the polling station ran out of first-time voter ballots for people who registered today, and they are getting more of these ballots now.
Town moderator Jeremy Eggleton said they started tabulated absentee ballots at 9 a.m., and all absentee ballots will be counted tonight. He estimates that between 700 and 900 individuals have registered to vote today.
12:20 p.m.: Five hours into voting, Hanover voters share motivations
Cayla Kwok, Iris WeaverBell and Ian Park / The Dartmouth
In Hanover, voters are sharing their motivations for showing up. Sue Reed ’81 said she voted for Vice President Kamala Harris at Hanover High School this morning. Reed wore white, purple and green clothing to represent “suffrage colors,” she said.
Reed added that she is voting because it is a “privilege.”
“I am voting for all the women in my family in my grandmother’s generation, from the one who died from an attempted abortion to the one who got to practice before the Supreme Court in the 1930s,” Reed said. “I’m voting for all of them.”
Sassan Hodge, who said he has been “a Democrat all [his] life,” voted for former President Donald Trump at Hanover High, citing the economy and foreign policy as key issues behind his decision.
“[The economy] is a mess,” Hodge said. “I haven’t seen much from Harris. It feels like more of the same.”
Hodge added that “as an Iranian,” he thought President Joe Biden should have been “much tougher on the Iranian government” amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Tuck School of Business professor and Hanover resident Rob Shumsky said he had a “smooth” experience casting his ballot for Harris. He added that “abortion rights” and “equal rights” are important to him.
“I think she’ll be a great president,” Shumsky said. “Respect for democratic processes and rule of law is important. She has that and Donald Trump does not.”
Hanover resident Pat Glowa said she voted for a “straight Democratic ticket.”
She added that she favors Democrats who uphold policies for schools, affordable housing, “supporting a social safety net” for those who are “less financially secure” and reproductive freedom.
Glowa said she believes this election has “so many basic fundamental principles of American democracy that are at stake” and expressed her disappointment over Trump’s 2016 victory after failing to win the popular vote.
She added that it is “tempting to think of leaving the country if the outcome is wrong.”
Mitchell Youker ’26 said economic reasons encouraged him to come out to vote at Hanover High. He said he wants to be able to own a house and eventually move back to his home state, California.
“It’s becoming an increasingly expensive place to live, so it’s just concerning because I’d like to be able to live there again one day,” he said. “… My big concern is probably that and just making sure that everyone has a fair and equal opportunity to get out there and work hard and try to create a better life for themselves.”
While Youker declined to disclose his presidential vote, he said he is “very disappointed” about both presidential candidates. He noted that he was in middle school when Trump was elected and is frustrated by his presence on the ballot.
“The fact he’s still on a ballot is really annoying,” Youker said. “We’re still dealing with this guy.”
On the other side of the aisle, Youker said he is concerned that Harris “didn’t win a primary, and now she’s here [and] nobody really chose her to be here.”
“We can do a lot better than this on both sides, and the fact that this is who it is is disappointing,” Youker said.
Hanover resident Marcia Stone said she has “never seen so many people turn out” in her past 15 years of voting at Hanover High.
Stone said she cast her ballot for Harris because she believes the Vice President has the “background, experience and the intelligence to lead the country.” Stone added that her vote was also driven by her belief in “women’s rights for control of their bodies” and her hope for “a positive relationship in international affairs.”
“I think it will be an extensive process to come to an agreement as to who won, and I think that the Trump forces will drag their heels and deny the veracity of the election as long as they can,” Stone said.
11:41 p.m.: Lyme votes for Harris, Goodlander, Craig
Varun Swaminathan / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
In Lyme, voters cast 1,249 ballots, including 263 absentee ballots, according to final results. The Harris-Walz ticket earned 84.8% of the vote — 1,050 votes — compared to 173 votes for Trump-Vance and 14 votes for third-party candidates.
In other elections, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Manchester, N.H., mayor Joyce Craig received 79.6% of the vote, and Democratic congressional candidate Maggie Goodlander received 84.4% of the vote.
Down-ballot, Democrats received wide majorities in every race — every Democrat received at least 900 votes. The best performing Republican, sheriff candidate Todd Matthew Eck, received 247 votes but lost to Democrat Jillian E. Myers.
A constitutional amendment to raise the mandatory retirement age for sheriffs and judges received 558 votes, or 51.3%. The amendment must receive a two-thirds majority of the state to be adopted, according to the New Hampshire Constitution.
Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, R-S.C., received four out of six write-in votes for president.
12:14 p.m.: Executive Council candidate Karen Liot Hill ’00 to visit polling stations across district two
Arizbeth Rojas / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Karen Liot Hill ’00 said she waited 30 minutes to vote in Lebanon this morning and will be on the road all day visiting polling locations in New Hampshire’s second Executive Council district, including Lebanon, Claremon, Concord, Hanover, Keene, Littleton and Plymouth. Liot Hill said there have been “incredible lines” at the polling stations she has visited — Lebanon and Littleton, so far — though the stations themselves have been “well organized.”
“I was quite emotional when I got to cast my ballot,” Liot Hill said. “The first four people on the ballot in all of executive council district two on the democratic ticket are all women for the first time in history.”
Liot Hill said she is “excited” to hear election results and is “prepared to be patient if necessary” to find out the next United States president.
“Dartmouth alumni have a great tradition of being involved in public service and I am proud to be a part of that legacy,” Liot Hill added.
11:55 a.m.: College President Sian Leah Beilock votes at Hanover High School
Iris WeaverBell / The Dartmouth
College President Sian Leah Beilock said she headed to the polls with a group of students in a Dartmouth Civics walking train.
“Our students are doing a great job of getting people to vote,” Beilock said. “I think it’s really important to have a voice in who runs our country.”
When asked about which issues influenced her vote, Beilock responded that “all of them are so important.”
“I wanted to show democracy in action,” she said.
10:59 am: ‘I’ve never seen an election like this’: Hanover town moderator expects high turnout
Annabelle Zhang / The Dartmouth Staff
The polls at Hanover High School have been “incredibly busy,” town moderator Jeremy Eggleton said. He expects that the voting site will “remain busy throughout the day.”
“I’m expecting bigger numbers than [in the] 2020 [election],” he said. “… I think it’s just that the national election is very contested.”
Pre-registration numbers before election day were “much higher” this year than in previous years, Eggleton added.
“Dartmouth and the Supervisors of the Checklist have done a great job coordinating to get the word out, so we have a lot of student registrants before the election,” he said. “That definitely relieved the pressure today.”
There are 79 open voting booths at Hanover High, according to Eggleton.
10:28 a.m.: Lebanon voters optimistic about election process, note high turnout
Kelsey Wang, Jeremiah Rayban and Ian Park / The Dartmouth
According to Lebanon City Manager Shaun Mulholland, election preparations in the city have been underway for “about six months.”
The city has more election staff on site this year because the voting “numbers are going to be much larger,” Mulholland said.
“The [New Hampshire] Secretary of State was saying 90% [turnout], so we’ll see,” Mulholland said. “… Anything more than 50% would be great because the numbers are generally fairly low for especially municipal elections, but 90% would be wonderful in a democracy.”
Lebanon resident Amelia Sereen said the voting process in Lebanon is “terrific,” but she has “never seen a line like this before.” She added that she has been “standing in political lines since [she] was a baby in the carriage” and campaigned for Democrat Adlai Stevenson in the 1950s.
Former comparative literature administrator Wanda Bachmann said the voting process in Lebanon is “always smooth, very secure and very efficient.” She also said there were more people in line to vote than she had expected.
Most voters interviewed said they plan to cast ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris. Bachmann said she was “definitely” voting for Harris.
“The other guy’s a moron, a con artist,” she said.
Sereen said she “vacillates” between “being scared” and thinking Harris will win in a “landslide” when she reads the news.
Democratic Committee of Lebanon chair Kate Collins said she is “so excited to see how engaged our students are nowadays” compared to when she was a college student in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Back then, students were not that engaged and were not doing as much work as [today’s students] are,” Collins said. “[Today’s students] are making a huge huge difference.”
Collins added that she hopes Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig will “have a strong win today.”
“That’s a more competitive race for New Hampshire,” Collins said. “Democrats will be able to get a tie in the Senate that’s challenged. I don’t know what's going to happen there.”
10:20 a.m: Republican state senate candidate John Mcintyre and former state Sen. Jim Rubens ’72 visit Hanover
Arizbeth Rojas / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Former state Sen. Jim Rubens ’72 , who held local office in the 1990s, is at the Hanover polling station this morning. He said it looks like “record” voter turnout compared to recent years.
Rubens said he is voting for former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., for governor but will vote libertarian for president to “protest,” since he expects Harris to win New Hampshire regardless.
Meanwhile, John McIntyre, a first-time Republican state senate candidate running against incumbent Sen. Sue Prentiss, said he plans to support both Ayotte and former President Donald Trump. Though McIntyre, like Rubens, voted for former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, he said “a vote for Harris is not the way to go for this country.”
“I did not support [Trump] in the primary,” McIntyre said. “I thought there were better alternatives.”
McIntyre added that he believes states with Republican governance perform “best” on metrics such as child poverty, income, healthcare and education.
“I would love our state to maintain its fantastic advantage over surrounding states,” McIntyre said.
9:49 a.m.: N.H. State representatives visit polls
Colleen Cranna / The Dartmouth
Government professor and State Rep. Russell Muirhead, D-Grafton 12, praised Dartmouth students for showing up to the polls this morning. While he pointed to a historic “effort to disenfranchise college students,” he said the student presence at Hanover High was “extraordinarily encouraging.”
“Starting at 7 a.m. this morning, there were waves of Dartmouth students walking into this polling place,” he said. “I almost fell over when I saw it. … I am delighted to see Dartmouth students vote regardless of their political affinity.”
Incumbent Muirhead is on the ballot this year for state representative. Along with Democrats Terry Spahr, Mary Hakken-Philips — also an incumbent — and Dartmouth lecturer Ellen Rockmore, he is running for one of four seats for the Grafton 12 district in the 400-member New Hampshire House of Representatives.
“What compelled me to run was the conspiracy theory that elections are rigged,” he said. “I decided that it was time not merely to write books but to get involved and fight off the changes to our election laws that were being driven by this conspiracy theory.”
Hakken-Phillips also visited the polls this morning, expressing “deep concerns about the future of our democracy.”
“All politics is local, and since the Dobbs [v. Jackson] decision from the Supreme Court came down, really the power of what happens to my immediate future is at the state levels,” she said.
According to Hakken-Phillips, the prevalence of reproductive health-related policies is “life or death” for many. As a shuttle arrived from to the Hanover polling station from Kendal, a local retirement community, Hakken-Phillips noted that “some of these women fought for these rights 50 years ago and they are back.”
“People understand what is at stake, and that’s why they are here today,” she said.
9:17 a.m.: Approximately 1,200 people cast ballots in Hanover, express confidence in process
Arizbeth Rojas and Colleen Cranna / The Dartmouth
Approximately 1,200 people have voted at Hanover High School since the station opened at 7 a.m., according to town moderator Jeremy Eggleton. The local high school has “always” been Hanover’s voting station — though voters cast ballots at Leverone Field House in 2020 due to its “better air circulation and filtration system” during the COVID-19 pandemic, he explained.
In addition to in-person ballots, the Town had yet to process approximately 1,400 absentee ballots as of 8:17 a.m., Eggleton added.
Massachusetts native Kate Hammerness ’28 said she voted in Hanover today to do her “duty as a citizen” and vote “for women’s rights.”
“I felt like voting here since I’m going to be living here for the next four years,” she explained. “I care a lot about the politics here, and also it’s more of a competitive election.”
Hammerness said the voting process at Hanover High was “pretty easy,” adding that she “felt good” about voting due to resources shared with her prior to Election Day — such as informational emails from Dartmouth Civics. According to Margaret Bone ’24, the process was “similar to voting in the primaries” and took approximately 15 minutes.
Both Bone and Eggleton expressed confidence in the system. Bone said her vote was “secure,” while Eggleton praised a “fantastic” security of votes in Hanover “…and I would venture to guess across the country.”
“A lot of the concern about [voting] is not well founded,” Eggleton said.
Hanover-Lyme Town Democrats chair Deb Nelson also appeared at the polls this morning. The retired teacher is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and believes it is “important” to uphold programs supporting climate protection and reproductive rights.
12:36 a.m.: Harris and Trump tie in Dixville Notch
Taylor Haber and Charlotte Hampton / The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Harris and Trump tie in Dixville Notch, N.H. — the first place in the nation to cast in-person ballots on Election Day. Midnight voting, a tradition in Dixville Notch dating back to 1960, closed at approximately 12:06 a.m. at The Balsams resort. Trump and Harris each won three votes. The town has six registered voters.
Lower on the ballot, Craig claimed one vote and Ayotte the other five. Goodlander, meanwhile, won four to Williams’s two.
