Obama spent the day in his hometown Chicago meeting with volunteers and calling some of them personally to thank them for their work, before he hosts a results-watching party in the city.
Obama and Romney
“I know that his supporters are just as engaged and just as enthusiastic and working just as hard today,” he added.
“So I would encourage everybody on all sides just to make sure that you exercise this precious right that you have that people fought so hard for.”
The president also unwound a bit shooting some hoops as he likes to do on election days — indulging in some basketball with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former personal aide Reggie Love, both former college-level players, and other friends, the White House said.
The race is very close, although Obama has made gains in recent days and leads in polls in most of the key battleground states where voters are likely to determine the election.
“I’m looking forward to the results, and I expect that we’ll have a good night,” Obama told reporters.
“But no matter what happens, I just want to say how much I appreciate everybody who has supported me, everybody who has worked so hard on my behalf. And again, I want to congratulate governor Romney and his team for a hard-fought race as well.”
However Obama also acknowledged some jitters.
“I think anybody who’s running for office would be lying if they say that there’s not some butterflies before the polls come in because anything can happen,” he told the “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” nationally syndicated radio show. “That’s the magic of democracy. It’s up to the people to decide.
“But at a certain point you get calm, because if you know you’ve done anything you can do, then the process is working the way it’s supposed to. Which is, power now resides with individual voters,” Obama said.
Late Monday, the president presided over his final campaign rally, in the Midwestern battleground of Iowa, where he launched his improbable but ultimately successful 2008 campaign.
Obama had no plans to venture outside of Chicago on election day, and he already voted last month, becoming the first sitting president to take advantage of early voting operations.
Romney for his part voted early Tuesday in Belmont, in the state of Massachusetts where he once served as governor.
He then flew out to the crucial toss-up state of Ohio to meet volunteers in Cleveland and help with get-out-the-vote efforts, including making phone calls.
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