The traditional first count of the 2024 US presidential election in the small village of Dixville Notch, in the northern tip of New Hampshire, ended in a deadlock: three votes for Kamala Harris and three for Donald Trump.

It took about 12 minutes to count and certify the votes of the six residents of this small community near the Canadian border, who for decades have cast ballots at midnight on Election Day.

The result marks a significant shift from four years ago, when all five votes went to Joe Biden — even though four of the registered voters this year are Republicans and the other two are independents, according to the Washington Post.

Dixville Notch, in the White Mountains, started early voting in 1960. The tradition originated in the nearby town of Hart’s Location, to accommodate railroad workers who had to be at work before normal voting hours.

While the city’s outcome doesn’t always predict the eventual winner — in 2016, Hillary Clinton defeated Trump here by four votes to two — this time the result is in line with what most polls say: extremely close elections and an evenly divided electorate.

“This feels normal,” Tom Tillotson, 79, told the New York Times. His father, Neil Tillotson, started the tradition of early morning voting at his Balsams Grand Resort hotel in 1960 and gained free publicity by allowing journalists to use the hotel telephones to report the vote count, long before exit polls from other areas were available.

All six residents who voted this year live in the former hotel. One of them, Scott Maxwell, expressed surprise at the unexpected split result. “I didn’t see that coming,” he told the New York Times. He also admitted that even he was surprised by his vote for Trump.

Les Otten, another voter, told CNN that the early release of the results is “a lesson in civic responsibility for the country,” adding: “If we can help people get out and understand that voting is an important part of their right as American citizens, that may be the key to what we do.”