DIXVILLE NOTCH, United States - Voters in the tiny New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch cast their votes just after midnight (0500 GMT Tuesday), kicking off the quadrennial US presidential election on Tuesday.

Only ten voters cast their ballots, and the result showed a tie, with President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney each garnering 5 votes.

A combination file photographs shows US President Barack Obama (L) speaking during a campaign rally in Mentor, Ohio on Nov 3, 2012 and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaking at a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida on Oct 31, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Dixville Notch, located in the far north of New Hampshire, is well known for its longstanding middle-of-the-night vote in the US presidential election, a symbolic event which marks the casting of the first ballots and the elections' initial results.

Polling stations elsewhere are generally open between morning till nightfall on the election day.

In addition to presidential election, voters are also voting Tuesday for 33 Senate seats, all 435 House of Representative seats, 11 state governor seats and numerous local offices.

Midnight voting in Dixville Notch took place despite major renovations underway at the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, the traditional balloting place.

A local ski lodge, a grey bungalow in the ski resort, was used as a makeshift polling station for the presidential election.

The ballot box, with a brass lock on it, was placed under the big sign, which says "Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the First in the Nation."

It was snowing as the voting began in Dixville Notch, and the temperature stood at minus six degrees Celsius.

Traditionally, the voting in Dixville Notch takes place in less than a minute.

Reporters from all over the world outnumbered the voters in the polling station in the hamlet in northern New Hampshire.