Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, aged 100, casts his early vote in support of Kamala Harris.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter cast his vote in the U.S. election on Wednesday, October 16, just 15 days after celebrating his 100th birthday. This marked the fulfillment of his earlier expressed wish to live long enough to cast his ballot in support of Kamala Harris.
The Carter Center, the nonprofit organization he founded after leaving the White House in 1981 to focus on global diplomacy, confirmed that the former Democratic leader voted by mail.
Although Election Day is officially on November 5, Carter utilized early voting options available in his home state of Georgia, where he is currently receiving hospice care.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carter had previously informed his family that voting for Harris and contributing to her effort to defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump was more important to him than reaching his 100th birthday. Remarkably, he achieved both of these goals.
Georgia’s early voting, which began on October 15, saw more than 420,000 ballots cast by midday Wednesday, according to Gabriel Sterling, a state election official. Carter, who has been under end-of-life care in Plains, Georgia, since February of last year, continues to make an impact despite his advanced age.
A former peanut farmer turned politician, Carter served one term as president and is the first former U.S. president to reach the milestone of 100 years. His dedication to public service and his involvement in American democracy remain strong, even in his twilight years.
