Tiny town delivers 3-3 tie in first US election result

The first result of the 2024 US presidential election - from a tiny township with six residents - has been declared, with a clean split of three votes each for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

In a tradition dating back to 1960, residents of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, cast their ballots at the stroke of midnight (05:00 GMT).

The remote, unincorporated resort town opened its polling station several hours ahead of much of the country, and delivered its result just 15 minutes later.

The tie was fitting for a race so competitive, where small polling margins have made it difficult to tell which candidate might really be ahead.

A crowd of journalists watched as the township kicked off election day - to the tune of the US national anthem played on an accordion.

One of the voters, Les Otten, was a Republican who cast his ballot for a Democrat for the first time.

He said he voted for Harris because she was promising loyalty to voters, while Trump was seeking loyalty from them. He told the BBC World Service that he did not believe this was the right attitude.

“If the person that is elected believes that all of us have input and can form the government... that's very different than if they're saying to us 'We need to follow what I say'."

Another voter explained that the northeastern state of New Hampshire was a "purple state" and "very divided".

Meanwhile, the town voted five to one for a Republican governor and four to two for a Democratic congresswoman.

In 2020, all six residents voted for Joe Biden - reportedly making him only the second presidential hopeful to win unanimous support from the town since 1960.

The town also participated in the vote to select this year's Republican presidential nominee - unanimously supporting Nikki Haley.