Jimmy Carter achieves goal of voting for Kamala Harris

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - Former president and recent centenarian Jimmy Carter has achieved his goal of living long enough to vote for the Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports that on Wednesday, October 16, one day after early voting began in Georgia, Carter filled out his ballot and delivered it to a drop box at the Sumter County Courthouse near his hometown of Plains.

Ahead of Carter's 100th birthday, his grandson, Jason, described the 39th president and former Georgia governor as "more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza" these days.

"I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," Carter told his son Chip in August.

Early voting continues until Nov. 1 in Georgia, with Election Day on Tuesday, November 5. The first day of early voting saw a massive spike in early votes compared to 2020 and 2022, with over 300,000 ballots cast.

Carter's vote should count even if he's no longer alive by Election Day on Nov. 5. Carter entered hospice care in February of last year.

Robert Sinners, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, noted that Georgia election rules state that when an absentee ballot is received by local election officials “it shall be deemed to have been voted then and there.”

Rules vary by state on whether early votes still count if the people who cast them die before Election Day. The issue took on greater significance in 2020, when COVID-19 deaths were soaring.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.