At Age 100, Jimmy Carter Fulfils Wish To Vote In 2024 US Election

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Bernama-dpa) -- Jimmy Carter, the oldest living former US president and the only one to have reached the age of 100, cast his vote for president on Wednesday in his highly contested home state of Georgia, reported German news agency (dpa)..

The ballot was dropped in a mailbox at the courthouse in the city of Americus, several US media reported, citing the Carter Centre. The former president told his family that he had more interest in voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, than in his 100th birthday, according the the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Carter, who is in poor health, had said he had a last wish and that was to vote for Harris in the Nov 5 election. 

Early voting opened in Georgia on Tuesday with a record first-day turnout, according to election officials.

Carter turned 100 on Oct 1. About a year and a half ago, he stopped his medical treatment after several hospital stays and went into hospice care.

Harris is in a neck-and-neck race against her Republican rival former president Donald Trump. US President Joe Biden won Georgia in 2020 but by just under 12,000 votes.

Georgia is one of a handful of so-called swing states seen by commentators as key to the election.

-- BERNAMA-dpa