Obama Votes Early in Chicago
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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(CHICAGO) — After urging his supporters to vote early for weeks, President Obama has cast his own ballot, officially becoming the first sitting president to vote early in person.
The president made a quick stop in his hometown of Chicago Thursday afternoon to visit his local polling site. Obama, visibly exhausted from his dizzying campaign schedule, chatted with election workers as he filled out his paperwork.
One woman joked with him about having to see his identification as the president handed over his driver’s license. The woman examined the ID to determine that it was his, which the president appeared to find quite amusing.
“Now ignore the fact that there’s no gray hair on that picture,” he told her, before noting, “I’m just glad I renewed my driver’s license.”
The president then headed to the electronic voting booth across the room, saying a quick hello to the man in the booth next to him. After several minutes an election official came over and showed him how to submit the ballot electronically.
Afterward, the president made a quick sales pitch for early voting. “I just want everybody to see what an incredibly efficient process this was thanks to the outstanding folks who are at this particular polling place,” he told reporters. “Obviously folks in Illinois can take advantage of this. But all across the country we’re seeing a lot of early voting.”
“It means you don’t have to figure out whether you need to take time off work, figure out how to pick up the kids and still cast a ballot. If something happens on Election Day, you will have already taken care of it. If it’s bad weather you won’t get wet. Or in Chicago, snowy. But this was really convenient,” he said.
“I can’t tell you who I voted for,” he joked. “But I very much appreciate everybody here. It’s good to be home back in the neighborhood.”
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