President Barack Obama cast his ballot for the November 6 election on Thursday in his hometown of Chicago and encouraged others who could vote before Election Day to follow his example.
Obama, who was a US senator from Illinois and had before becoming president, went to an early-voting facility to show his driver’s license before making his pick for president.
“I’m just glad I renewed my driver’s licence,” the president said after a poll worker asked to see his photo ID. When he handed it over, she studied it closely.
“For all of you who have not yet voted early, I just want everybody to see what an incredibly efficient process this was,” he said to journalists afterward.
It was the first time a US president had cast his vote early. Scenes of presidential candidates and their spouses voting on Election Day are typically a ritual that ends a long campaign season.
First lady Michelle Obama has already cast her vote. The president has said, with mock relief, that she voted for him.