'100-Year-Old' Former US President Jimmy Carter Votes Early in Swing State Georgia... Harris "Thanks for Support"

Jason Carter "I Don't Let Go of the 'Lifeline' to Vote for Grandfather Harris"

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who celebrated his 100th birthday on the 1st, cast his vote in the U.S. presidential election on the 16th (local time).

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Photo by Yonhap News

The Carter Center, founded by former President Carter and his late wife Rosalynn, announced that Carter cast his vote via mail-in early voting in his hometown of Georgia on that day.

He is the first former U.S. president to surpass 100 years of age. Since February last year, he has been receiving hospice care at home after discontinuing life-prolonging treatment due to melanoma, a type of skin cancer, which had metastasized to his liver and brain.

The Carter Center did not disclose whom former President Carter voted for, but it is speculated that he voted for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. In Georgia, a relative can submit a ballot to the authorities on behalf of a voter.

Upon news of Carter’s early voting being reported, Vice President Harris shared the article on her X (formerly Twitter) account, writing, "President Carter, thank you for your support."

Former President Carter, a Democrat, has publicly expressed support for Kamala Harris through his family. Earlier, at the Democratic National Convention in August where Harris was officially nominated as the presidential candidate, Carter’s grandson Jason stated in a speech, "My grandfather really wants to vote for Harris. He is trying to vote for Harris."

Additionally, Jason told the Associated Press, "One of the reasons my grandfather is holding on to life is because he wants to witness history being made with Vice President Harris, a fellow Democrat, becoming the first female president of the United States and the first president of Asian descent."

In Georgia, where mail-in and in-person early voting began the day before, 66 voters aged 100 or older had cast their votes by that morning, with former President Carter being one of them, according to political news outlet The Hill.

On the first day of early voting, the 15th, more than 300,000 people participated in Georgia, showing intense enthusiasm. This figure is more than double the previous record for the first day of early voting, which was 136,000 votes during the 2020 presidential election.