The Vermont senator won over all four Democratic voters in the tiny town of Dixville Notch, while Ohio Governor John Kasich snuck past billionaire Donald Trump, 3-2, among Republicans.
Under New Hampshire state law, communities with fewer than 100 voters can get permission to open their polls at midnight and close them as soon as all registered voters have cast their ballots.
All other polling places must remain open between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., although most open earlier and fewer than two dozen close at 8:00.
New Hampshire primary winners traditionally have a leg up with fundraising and momentum going into South Carolina, the next big prize.
Sanders is expected to soundly defeat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary after the two ran a photo-finish campaign in Iowa's caucuses, with Clinton winning by a nose.
On the Republican side, Trump looks unstoppable – leaving prognosticators with little to do but project who might run in second place.
One contender, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, sought to dampen expectations on Tuesday morning.
'I don't know where we're going to finish, in terms of second, third, fourth,' Florida's junior senator said on ABC's 'Good Morning America.' program.
'I know [Donald] Trump is a clear front-runner. I mean, he's been in first place since June.'
Final pre-election polling in the Granite State shows Rubio jostling with three other candidates – Kasich, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Trump spent part of Tuesday morning explaining how he ended up repeating a vulgar insult during a Monday night rally in Manchester, after a female fan yelled out that Cruz 'is a p***y.'
Trump stopped his event to make sure all 5,000 people in attendance know what she had said – booming the phrase through the Verizon Wireless Arena's loudspeakers personally.
'It was like a retweet,' he insisted on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' program, noting that he was merely repeating someone else's view.
Spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said on CNN that Trump was using the kind of salty language that America's founding fathers likely used in living rooms throughout colonial America.
Hillary Clinton started her day before 7:00 am at a Manchester polling location, according to press pool reports.
She shook hands and posed for photographs with a group of volunteers and supporters, who came out before dawn to welcome the candidate despite the frigid weather.
Clinton declined to predict the outcome to reporters, vowing to 'keep working until the last vote is cast and counted' and saying she's 'looking for a great election.'
She and Chelsea stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts next and went to the counter to order – but reporters were ordered out before they could see what the would-be president was buying.
At her next stop she had an encounter with Frank Fiorina, whose wife Carly is the only other woman running for president in either major party.
As she came to the end of the line of volunteers campaigning outside the Gilbert H Hood middle school in Derry, she ran into Mr. Fiorina
'Do you remember me?' he asked. 'I sure do!' Clinton said. 'Good for you for being out here.'
They shook hands and he said: 'I heard Bill was out there too. I didn't wear the right shoes, but other than that I'm doing fine.'
'It is such an amazing, wonderful part of Democracy,' Clinton said.
Dixville Notch isn't the only tiny New Hampshire hamlet that opens its polls at midnight.
Sanders and Kasich also won in Hart's Location, which has 41 registered voters this year. Sanders received 12 votes to Clinton's seven, and Kasich narrowly edged out Trump 5-4.
But in Millsfield, Clinton beat Sanders, 2-1, while Ted Cruz was the overwhelming Republican favorite with nine votes, followed by Trump's three.
And while midnight votes were cast in three locations, Dixville Notch traditionally gets most of the spotlight due to its media-friendly setup at the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel.
According to NPR, it also has the distinction of correctly predicting the eventual Republican nominee in every election since 1968. But Dixville's record at predicting who will win the in-state primary is spotty.
Of the presidential candidates, only Kasich has visited the town during this campaign cycle.
Appearing on Good Morning America as polls opened, the Ohio governor said he personally called all nine registered voters in the tiny town ahead of the midnight vote.
'We came out strong,' Kasich told George Stephanopoulos with a smile.
Located about 20 miles from the Canadian border, Dixville exists as a town only for voting purposes.
Almost all of its nine voters are employees of the hotel, which closed in 2011 but is currently undergoing a major overhaul under new owners.
Former owner Neil Tillotson started the midnight voting tradition in 1960, likely at the suggestion of a news photographer looking for an advantage in getting his pictures out to newspapers ahead of his rivals.
For many years, voters cast their ballots in individual booths in the hotel's posh ballot room. Because of the renovations, the nine current residents voted in another building on the property, the Hale House.
In 2012, there was a tie for first place on the Republican side, with Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman getting two votes apiece. All three Democrats voted for Obama.
Hart's Location, about 80 miles south of Dixville, first hosted midnight voting in 1948 but gave it up after the 1964 election when residents grew weary of the late hours and media frenzy every four years.
Energized with new blood, town residents revived the tradition in 1996.
Millsfield is also making a comeback this year, though it's unclear just when the town last voted at midnight or when its tradition started.
According to a 1952 article in Time magazine, eight residents voted at midnight during the general election that year. This year, there are 22 registered voters.
Posted by Kris Akudo at 1:00 PM
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