Jimmy Carter votes in Georgia, fulfilling wish to live long enough to ...
By Stefan Becket
Updated on: October 16, 2024 / 12:43 PM EDT / CBS News
Jimmy Carter's 100th birthday celebration
Former President Jimmy Carter cast his ballot in the presidential race in Georgia on Wednesday, the second day of early voting in his home state.
He voted by mail, the Carter Center said, fulfilling his wish to live long enough to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. Carter turned 100 earlier this month, becoming the first former president in U.S. history to do so.
He has been in hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, since February 2023. Carter lost his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in November, after 77 years of marriage. The former president attended his late wife's memorial service in a wheelchair.
Carter had told a family member that he was "only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," according to his grandson, Jason Carter, who recounted the comment to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in August.
The former president has lived remarkably long in home hospice care, where the average length of time for patients is 63 days, according to the National Institutes of Health. Carter has been in hospice for more than 19 months.
In: Kamala Harris Donald Trump Jimmy CarterStefan Becket
Stefan Becket is a managing editor of politics for CBSNews.com. Stefan has covered national politics for more than a decade and helps oversee a team covering the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, immigration and federal law enforcement.
