N.H. Primary Day Blog: Voters Weigh In With Presidential Picks

Ballots are being cast in the New Hampshire primary, the first-in-the-nation vote in the 2020 presidential election. NHPR's news team is covering polls and candidates across the state. Bookmark this page for coverage throughout the day.

After 7 p.m. click here for our Primary Night Live Blog.

Have questions about voting in the New Hampshire primary? Click here for our 2020 N.H. Primary Voter's Guide.

CLICK HERE & BOOKMARK FOR REAL-TIME RESULTS AFTER THE POLLS CLOSE

Want to see runup coverage? Click here for part 1 and here for part 2 of our Primary Countdown blog. Click here to see coverage by candidate, and for more stories from our political team. 

6:25 p.m.

Republican primary campaigners hold signs for Donald Trump and Bill Weld outside the Ward 2 polling place in Derry. Photo by Jordyn Haime.

Credit Jordyn Haime | NHPR

5:20 p.m.

Polls across the state will close between 7 and 8 p.m. UNH political scientist Dante Scala will join Laura Knoy in NHPR's studio for live analysis as results roll in. To find out what towns Scala will be watching for signals about where voters stand, click here.   

4:30 p.m.

Polling places across New Hampshire are reporting moderate turnout this Primary Day. In Manchester, election officials are nevertheless taking extra steps to ensure a smooth process.

"We divided the checklist into five stations, rather than four," said Louise Gosselin, moderator of Ward 6. She added they also have a check-in station just for new voters, which takes longer.

- Todd Bookman 

3:30 p.m.

Elizabeth Warren poses for selfies with Yang and Buttigieg supporters outside the polls in Manchester. Photos by Sarah Gibson.

Credit Sarah Gibson | NHPR

3:20 p.m.  

3:15 p.m.

Bob Regan of Alton did a poll clerk shift this morning and then switched to Buttigieg sign duty outside the local Catholic church where ballots were cast. Photo by Annie Ropeik.

Credit Annie Ropeik | NHPR

2:35 p.m.  

2:30 p.m.

In Durham, home of the University of New Hampshire main campus, more than 500 new voters have registered today. Photo by Jordyn Haime.

Credit Jordyn Haime | NHPR

2:10 p.m. 

2:00 p.m.

Joe Biden will take his presidential campaign to South Carolina tonight before votes in New Hampshire have even been counted.

Credit Dan Tuohy | NHPR

Biden's campaign says he'll skip his scheduled primary night party in Nashua but he will address supporters by video stream from South Carolina. Biden told reporters today not to read too much into his decision to leave New Hampshire ahead of schedule.

"Well I'm going to head to South Carolina tonight and then Nevada, like we said from the beginning," he said. "And I'm feeling good about that, but we've got a lot of good friends here, that's helped us a lot and were still mildly hopeful and we'll see what happens."

- Josh Rogers

1:40 p.m.

Amanda Kreider of Cambridge, Mass. is canvassing for Bernie Sanders in Concord today. She says she's trying to make sure people who've committed to voting for Sanders make it to the polls today. Photo by Michael Brindley.

Credit Michael Brindley | NHPR

1:30 p.m.

Actor Kevin Costner, who has been appearing with Pete Buttigieg on the campaign trail this week, poses with supporters and volunteers at Buttigieg headquarters in Manchester. Photo by Allegra Boverman.

Credit Allegra Boverman | NHPR

12:30 p.m.

Bernie Sanders speaks to the press outside the McDonough Elementary School in Manchester, that city's Ward 4 polling place. Photo by Dan Tuohy.

Credit Dan Tuohy | NHPR

12:15 p.m.

Credit Daniela Allee | NHPR

Outside of Ward 3 in Lebanon, a sign encourages voters to write in former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg isn't on the ballot in New Hampshire, but he did win with write-in votes in Dixville Notch overnight.

- Daniella Allee   

12:05 p.m.

Democratic candidate Deval Patrick, formerly the governor of Massachusetts, stopped by the polls in Bedford. Photo by Allegra Boverman.

Credit Allegra Boverman | NHPR

11:45 a.m.

An International Association of Firefighters sign supporting Joe Biden on display near the Ward 4 polling place in Concord. Photo by Sarah Gibson.

Credit Sarah Gibson | NHPR

11:30 a.m.

South Carolina Senator (and 2016 Republican primary candidate) Lindsey Graham was spotted at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester. The diner is a perennial stop for candidates and the media during the New Hampshire Primary cycle. Photo by Alex McOwen.

Credit Alex McOwen | NHPR

Jean Barnes is ward moderator for Ward 2 in Concord. Jean has been moderator for the ward for more than 25 years. Photo by Elaine Loft.

Credit Elaine Loft | NHPR

Credit Dan Barrick | NHPR

In Bedford, Governor Chris Sununu stopped by the polls to chat with voters. Photo by Alex McOwen.

Credit Alex McOwen | NHPR

9:00 a.m.

Credit Michael Brindley | NHPR

Tom Frida is town moderator of Londonderry, where the polls opened at 6 a.m. He told NHPR he's predicting 10,000 voters will turn out today. Londonderry is testing a new electronic voting check in system, which Friday says has kept the lines running smoothly.

- Michael Brindley

8:50 a.m.

Some campaigns are hoping for strong voter turnout from young people in New Hampshire today. Many will vote in Durham, home of UNH's main campus.

Madison Savoy of Lancaster is a senior there. She says voting this year feels more real to her and her peers than 2016 did.

"I feel like there's a lot of the line for us, in terms of student debt, and job growth and... just it feels very very different in 2016. I'm very hopeful but I know what can happen so I feel like it's even more important than ever."

Savoy was lined up with friends before polls even opened at Durham's Oyster River High School. She says other friends had gone to register before voting.

Durham officials expect around 3,000 same-day registrations today.

- Annie Ropeik

8:45 a.m.

Hillside Middle School in Manchester is the polling places for Ward 2 in New Hampshire's largest city. In the lobby, an international camera crew interviewed local voters. Photo by Jim Schachter.

Credit Jim Schachter | NHPR

8:15 a.m.

In Bow, ballot counts are tabulated. After one hour of voting, 401 Democratic ballots and 135 Republican ballots had been cast. Photo by Alex McOwen. 

7:00 a.m.

Credit Annie Ropeik | NHPR

At Oyster River High School in Durham, more than 50 people were lined up to vote before the polls opened at 7.

Durham's town manager Todd Selig says he expects about 3,000 same-day registrants today, mostly UNH students. 

- Annie Ropeik

6:00 a.m.

Polls are beginning to open across New Hampshire for the first-in-the-nation vote for president. Bookmark this page for coverage from NHPR throughout the day. Click here to learn more about polling places and voting hours around the state. 

12:15 a.m.

NHPR's Casey McDermott visited the midnight voting town of Millsfield, one of a few New Hampshire towns that casts midnight votes on Primary Day.

Click here to see vote totals, and bookmark that page for live results this evening.