With polls showing a very close race, the presidential candidates spent the final 24 hours of their campaigns in a last push to rally supporters. President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney blitzed nine battleground states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa.
The president returned early Tuesday. Tickets are required for his election night rally, and there will be more security and more organization than the Grant Park celebration in 2008.
This year, campaign volunteers will be the getting an invitation.
"This is about people who have worked really hard to re-elect him. He has been saying on the last few days of the campaign trail that his re-election is about us," said Melanie Russell, Obama Campaign.
Obama volunteer Mary Lou Carr got her ticket Monday. She supported President Obama in 2008, but during this campaign she took a more active role.
"I can't wait to go to the party tomorrow night--and to see him, because four years ago at when he was at Grant Park, when he walked out with his little girls and Michelle my knees buckled," said Carr.
As volunteers hope to influence voters who may not be as enthusiastic with last minute calls, others locally plan to party Tuesday night.
Vanessa Abron has volunteered with Young & Powerful for Obama. Their election night festivities will be in Bronzeville.
"As far as how I feel, my gut intuition, I feel really good about it," said Abron. "I did my early voting on Saturday, and the lines were, it was a two-hour wait to vote, early voting at that."
Not all those in town are here to party. Some are here to work. Journalists from around the world will report on the U.S. election.
"No matter what, you have to come here. You can't just pass by it. You have to come here and film in America," said Firas El Echi, Tunisian journalist.
"For us it means we are depending who will be in power, Romney or Barack Obamas. What will be our relations with America," said Maria Makeeva, Russian journalist
"In Africa, we call something that we call Obamania, which means that Obama is the president of Africa," said Sylvio Combey, Togolese journalist.
