Jimmy Carter Is Trying to Stay Alive Long Enough to Vote for Kamala Harris

Former president Jimmy Carter is less than two months away from becoming a centenarian, and he’s hoping to make it to 100 so he can vote Kamala Harris for president. Carter’s much-anticipated birthday is October 1, just two weeks before his home state, Georgia, opens early voting for the 2024 general election.

“I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris,” Carter told his son Chip, according to reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jason Carter, grandson of Jimmy and former state senator and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, told the outlet about the conversation, noting that his grandfather has been “more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza” in recent days.

Carter, the nation’s 39th president, has been in hospice care since February of 2023. And last August, he and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter shared that they were entering their “final chapter” together. A few months later, in November, Rosalynn passed away at the age of 96.

In addition to voting, Carter plans to celebrate his birthday early in September with a music-filled night at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Carter will be honored by a wide range of artists, including Chuck Leavell, D-Nice, Drive-By Truckers, Eric Church, GROUPLOVE, Maren Morris, and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus, per Associated Press.

“Whether it was on his record players, on the campaign trail, or on the White House lawn,” Jason said in a statement about the celebration, “music has been and continues to be a source of joy, comfort and inspiration for my grandfather.”

Throughout Jimmy Carter’s health complications, he’s remained remarkably active in politics.

During the summer protests of 2020, Carter released a statement condemning “racial injustices,” adding, “People of power, privilege, and moral conscience must stand up and say ‘no more’ to a racially discriminatory police and justice system.” Later that year, he and Rosalynn endorsed Joe Biden for president during a pre-recorded speech at the Democratic National Convention. (In 2019 he said that there ought to be an age limit for presidents and that at 80 years old, he didn’t think he could “undertake the duties that I experienced when I was president.”)

In May, according to his family, Carter voted in Georgia’s primary. “He’s not going to miss an election,” his grandson said. “It’s important to him. I mean, that’s the person he is.”