When did New Hampshire polls close? Here's what time 2024 primary voting ended

CBS News 24/7

Polls closed at 8 p.m. in New Hampshire. Find results and analysis from the Republican primary here. The original story on New Hampshire's poll closing times is below:


WashingtonNew Hampshire voters cast their ballots Tuesday in the first primary election of the 2024 campaign, and Republicans may know the outcome more quickly than Democrats.

That's because President Biden won't appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. Still, his supporters have launched a write-in campaign in support of the likely Democratic presidential nominee. 

In the Republican primary, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley is seeking to challenge former President Donald Trump's front-runner status in New Hampshire — where the electorate is more moderate — after he dominated his rivals in the Iowa caucuses. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed Trump.

In guidance sent to local elections officials earlier this month, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan and Attorney General John Formella encouraged officials to release results of their respective polling locations once all ballots had been tallied, but said they could release Republican results earlier if write-in votes on the Democratic side are taking longer to count. 

"To the extent that counting the write-in votes takes longer than expected, the moderator may release the Republican results earlier than the Democratic results provided the results are complete and the moderator is comfortable that appropriate reconciliation has taken place for that party," the guidance said. 

When do polls close in the New Hampshire primary election?

Most polling sites in New Hampshire closed at 7 p.m. ET, but some are open until 8 p.m. ET. Voters who are in line when polls close can still vote. 

The tiny community of Dixville Notch, which has just a few residents, is an outlier. Voters there were the first of the primary to cast their ballots, doing so at midnight in a voting tradition that began in 1960. Polls in the town closed just a few minutes after its six voters cast their ballots. Haley won all of Dixville Notch's six votes.

When will New Hampshire primary results start coming in?

New Hampshire primary results start trickling in once polls have closed. Historically, New Hampshire has counted a substantial portion of votes within a few hours of polls closing. 

Polling places that close earlier can announce their results once they have them and do not have to wait for other communities to wrap up voting, according to the New Hampshire secretary of state's office.

This year, Democratic votes may take longer to report in some townships because Mr. Biden isn't on the ballot and hand-counting write-in votes could slow down the process. But the secretary of state is confident that all results will be in on primary night, his office said. 

CBS News will not characterize or project the outcome of the race before the last polls close at 8 p.m. ET. Check here for the results

What to know before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary
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