Voters in the the New Hampshire primary 2016 go to the polls Tuesday, Feb. 9. Voters will choose between Republican candidates such as Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Marco Rubio. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is expected to defeat Hillary Clinton.
If you're wondering what time polls open for the New Hampshire primary date on Tuesday, the answer is a bit complicated. Below details state law, but towns do have a lot of latitude. Voters also can expect to start seeing exit polls and other important primary news well ahead of the results.
Polls open for the 2016 New Hampshire primary at various times throughout the morning Tuesday so Democrats and Republicans can cast their votes.
State law requires polls to be open between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday, but each town and city sets its own hours.
Most are open between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Three tiny towns -- Hart's Location, Dixville and Millsfield -- open their polls at 12:00 a.m. for those aggressively early-bird voters. The polls in the towns soon close after everyone has voted. There are bout 20 communities which are allowed remain open until 8 p.m.
There are 319 polling places in the state.
Every poll has predicted Democratic U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Billionaire Republican businessman Donald Trump will win. But with so many Republicans in the race, placing second, third, fourth or even fifth is a meaningful accomplishment.
"Nobody knows what's going to happen," Gov Chris Christie told a town hall crowd on Monday. "It's up in the air."
Why is the New Hampshire primary so important and how does it work?
Christie will be hoping his dominant performance during Saturday's debate will raise his profile. The latest New Hampshire poll by UMass/7News predicted Trump will dominate, followed by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Fla.; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas; former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush; Christie; former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina; and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
The day is less crucial for former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who squeaked-out a win in Iowa and has plenty of money and organizational support to go the distance. The latest poll by UMass/7News said Sanders was ahead by 16 percentage points.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.