RAW VIDEO: President Obama Asked For ID As He Votes Early

NewsBreakerOct 26 '12

Host @DavidBegnaud delivers breaking news and today's trending buzz in 45 seconds.  NYTimes.com: Obama Votes Early in Chicago and Encourages Others to Follow Suit By PETER BAKER CHICAGO – Among his various milestones, this one probably won’t make the history books. But Barack Obama became the first sitting president to vote early in person on Thursday as the singular act of democracy increasingly becomes more than a one-day affair. Mr. Obama stopped in his hometown, between visits to three battleground states, to cast his ballot 12 days before Election Day and encouraged others to follow suit. The Obama campaign is banking on early voting as a bulwark against a surging Mitt Romney, arguing that the president is leading among those who have already registered their choice. “For all of you who have not yet early voted, 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,” Mr. Obama said after using the touch-screen voting station at the Martin Luther King Community Center, not far from his Kenwood home. “All across the country we’re seeing a lot of early voting,” he added. “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.” He joked, “I can’t tell you who I voted for.” When Mr. Obama arrived at the polling place, he signed paperwork as instructed by the election workers and then seemed momentarily surprised when one asked for his driver’s license. “Oh, you’re right,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “I’ve got my driver’s license. Now ignore the fact that there’s no gray hair in that picture.” The worker asked him a question about paperwork, apparently whether he had the right form. “I assume it is,” Mr. Obama said. “I hope so. If not, this will be really embarrassing.” The woman who took his license held it up and gave it the sort of skeptical examination an airport security officer would. Mr. Obama laughed. “Did you see that?” he said, then mimicked her looking over the license. It took him several minutes to fill out the long Chicago ballot and then, with the help of a poll worker, a few more minutes to go through the involved process of completing his vote. “I voted?” Mr. Obama asked. “Yes, sir,” the poll worker said. And so went history.