In the midst of a 48-hour, eight-state campaign blitz, President Obama paused to cast an early ballot for himself in his home state of Illinois. He and his surrogates have spent the past several weeks urging Americans to take advantage of early voting opportunities in their states, and on Thursday became the first sitting president to do so in person.
Although he is one of the most visible and well known faces in the world, the president still had to present photo ID at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center polling place near his Chicago home. The woman checking it, according to the press pool report, actually took her job seriously, looking at his license and then up at him.
“Now ignore the fact that there’s no gray hair on that picture,” he said. “I’m just glad I renewed my driver’s license.”

Obama stressed the importance and convenience of early voting, which he described as an "incredibly efficient process" and is hoping will give him an advantage over Republican Mitt Romney.
"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," the president said. "But this was really convenient. I can’t tell you who I voted for. But I very much appreciate everybody here. It’s good to be home back in the neighborhood.”

BET Politics - Your source for the latest news, photos and videos illuminating key issues and personalities in African-American political life, plus commentary from some of our liveliest voices. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

(Photo: Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America)