First voter, Tanner Tillotson of Dixville Notch cast his ballot at the US presidential election. -- PHOTO: AP
NEW HAMPSHIRE - MR BARACK Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, New Hampshire, where a tradition of having the first Election Day ballots tallied lives on.
Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement. It was the first time Dixville Notch chose the Democratic candidate since 1968.
IT is the Electoral College, not the popular vote, that elects the next president of the United States. Here are some facts about the Electoral College:
There are 538 members of the Electoral College, allotted to the 50 states and District of Columbia based on their representation in the US Congress. The smallest states have three members, while the most populous state, California, has 55. Washington, D.C., which has no voting representation in Congress, has three, the same as the smallest state.
WASHINGTON - SOME of the earliest returns in Tuesday's US presidential election could provide big clues about the outcome.
Trends in the race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain could become clear soon after the first polls close at 6pm EST (7am Singapore time, Wednesday) in Indiana.
The town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for Mr Obama, 10 for Mr McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul, a libertarian leaning congressman who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination.
Independent Ralph Nader was on both towns' ballots but got no votes.
Hart's Location had favored the Republican candidate in every election since reinstating early voting in 1996.
The first Dixville Notch voter, following a tradition established in 1948, was picked ahead of the midnight voting and the rest of the town's 21 registered voters followed suit in Tuesday's first minutes.
Town Clerk Rick Erwin said the northern New Hampshire town is proud of its tradition, but added that the most important thing is that the turnout represents a 100 per cent vote.
President George W. Bush won the votes in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location in 2004 on the way to his re-election. -- AP
