First US presidential votes cast in 3 New Hampshire towns

Three tiny towns in the US state of New Hampshire have cast the first votes in a traditional midnight voting on Election Day.

Dixville Notch, Hart's Location, and Mills field were allowed to begin the process under New Hampshire law, which states communities with fewer than 100 voters can open the polling stations at midnight and close them when all registered voters cast their vote.

According to USA Today, voters in the small communities favored Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, putting him ahead of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, 32-25.

The tradition of midnight voting began in Hart’s Location in 1948, but Dixville Notch is the best-known of the trio, having voted at midnight every presidential election since 1960.

Voters in other parts of New Hampshire should wait till the voting officially begins at 7 a.m. local time (1100 GMT).

All 50 states and Washington DC will open polling booths on Tuesday across six time zones. Timings vary for each state. While most states have 12 hours to wrap up voting, some would continue until 9 pm local time.

Of the nearly 230 million Americans eligible to vote, more than 120 million are expected to partake in the poll.

Voting experts and officials are concerned about unusually high levels of chaos and voter intimidation at polling stations.