10:30 a.m.

4:30 p.m.

MERRIMACK -- Time for some very unscientific exit polling and interviews. In recent days, a number of New Hampshire voters told The Trail that they hadn't made up their minds. Now they have.

Ray Rich, 57, an artist and Republican from Hillsboro, said Friday at the Mike Huckabee event in Henniker that he liked Romney's stance on Social Security. But today Rich turned against Romney. "I voted for John McCain, because I thought he had the best chance of beating Romney," Rich said. "I received countless [pre-recorded] phone calls from the Romney campaign, and the feeling I got from them was a very cold feeling. They were extremely negative, slamming other candidates. I was just so put off by that that I attempted to strategically vote to block him."

Caren Swanson, 28, a librarian in Andover, said at a John Edwards rally in Lebanon on Saturday that she agrees with Dennis Kucinich on most policy issues. But she thought she might vote for someone more viable, such as Edwards or Barack Obama. She stayed up until 1:30 a.m. today deliberating, and finally decided on the candidate she saw in person yesterday afternoon: Obama. She found him charismatic and able to connect with people.

"I think he could be a positive voice, bringing America together, which I think America really needs right now," she said. "There's so much bitterness from these extreme groups."

She added, "Race was also part of it for me. I'm tempted by Kucinich and Edwards, but how can I vote for a white man when I have an opportunity to vote for a woman or a person of color? . . . I couldn't pass up the opportunity to vote for a person who is more representative of the diversity we're living in, both in the country and in the world."

Susan Adie, 48, a registered nurse from Hudson who is an independent, said at a Romney event Friday night that she voted for President Bush in 2004 and typically votes Republican. This year she was thinking about going for Obama, but she didn't.

"It was a surprise, right at the last minute, but I ended up voting for Ron Paul. The deciding factor at the last minute was that I definitely didn't want socialized medicine, so Obama was out. And Romney seems to be so out of touch about gay rights."

She said she likes Ron Paul's ideas about the war, education and health care. I asked what she meant by "the last minute."

"In the booth," she said. "I had to circle one."

Kate Devine, a physician in Lyme, spent all afternoon and evening Monday reading debate transcripts and candidate position papers. She went into the booth thinking she might vote for Kucinich, but did so instead for Edwards. "I want Edwards to stay in the race. I like his message about reducing corporate power."

Judy MacHardy, a retiree in Durham, did some comparison shopping Sunday between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. She left Obama's rally in Exeter feeling "up and inspired," and thought she'd probably vote for him. But Clinton blew her away at the rally in Hampton.

"She just was so knowledgeable and so in tune with the issues and so clear in her explanations," she said. "I think Obama is very inspirational, and very charismatic, more so than Hillary, but I learned more and I felt more comfortable listening to her answers."