CHICAGO — President Barack Obama returned to Chicago’s South Side on Thursday and cast an early vote near his Kenwood home.

The Democratic President chatted with poll workers in a neighborhood community center afterward during a brief stop in his hometown to stress the importance of early voting.

Obama was greeted by well wishers at the Martin Luther King Community Center, pausing to shake hands and pose for pictures.

Marine One landed at Soldier Field at about 3:50 p.m. CDT, and the presidential motorcade departed from there to the Martin Luther King Community Center, where Obama was to cast his vote.

Air Force One arrived at O’Hare International Airport a little before 3:30 p.m. The president was greeted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the airport, then got into a helicopter to fly into the city to cast his early vote.

Obama was in Chicago just a few hours, making the hometown trip as part of his push to get as many people as possible to vote before Election Day. He’s the first sitting president to cast an in-person early ballot.

Democrats have been aggressively trying to gain an advantage over Republicans in states that allow early voting. When Obama announced that he would be voting early, he said on Twitter, “If your state has early voting, join me,” and directed followers to a link with more information about early voting.