Jimmy Carter votes for Kamala Harris in 2024 election after milestone 100th birthday

Before his milestone 100th birthday, former President Jimmy Carter told his family he wanted to hold on to support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. On Wednesday, he cast his ballot for the vice president.

Jimmy Carter told his son, Chip Carter, earlier this year "I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Carter Center, the global charity Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter founded in the 1980s, confirmed to USA TODAY the former president voted by mail on Wednesday.

Officially the oldest living president, Carter turned 100 on Oct. 1 and marked his birthday from his longtime home of Plains, Georgia. The former president entered hospice care in February 2023, after being diagnosed in 2015 with cancer that spread to his brain.

Chip Carter's wife, Becky, submitted Jimmy Carter's ballot at a drop box at the Sumter County Courthouse, near Plains, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I think he feels good,” Chip Carter told the outlet. “It was a good morning for him and good for us that he got it done.”

Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter's eldest grandson, told USA TODAY in August that his grandfather was “really physically diminished” after spending over 18 months in hospice care, but he was still keeping tabs on the election and other global issues.

“He obviously is following American politics. He's following the situation in Gaza. Those are both things that are very close to his heart,” Jason Carter said.

Early voting in Georgia kicked off Tuesday with a record quarter of a million voters turning out in the battleground state. Georgia is one of a handful of key swing states this year whose purple electorate could decide the 2024 election.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Carter, 100, votes for Kamala Harris in 2024 election