Carter, who served a single term in office, celebrated his centennial birthday at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he has been under hospice care for the past 19 months.

Despite his weakening health, Carter has remained determined to cast his vote in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. "I'm only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," he reportedly told relatives, according to his grandson Jason Carter, who shared the sentiment with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Carter hopes to make it to October 15, when early voting in Georgia begins.

As a former peanut farmer and Navy veteran, Carter's longevity has set him apart from other long-lived former presidents. He has outlived George H.W. Bush, the previous record-holder, who passed away at the age of 94 in November 2018.

Carter's 100th birthday was marked by an earlier celebration—a concert held at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. The event featured performances by Georgia's own B-52's and cover songs by The Allman Brothers, whose support for Carter during his 1976 campaign earned him the nickname "the rock 'n' roll president." Although Carter couldn't attend the concert in Atlanta, it was broadcast on Georgia Public Television as part of his private family celebration.

Sadly, absent from the celebration was Carter’s wife, Rosalynn Carter, who passed away last November at the age of 96. Carter, who attended her tribute service in a wheelchair, had a blanket adorned with their faces covering his legs.

During his presidency from 1977 to 1981, Carter accomplished significant achievements, including brokering the Camp David Accords, which ended longstanding conflicts between Israel and Egypt. He also integrated human rights into U.S. foreign policy and took a firm stance against the Soviet Union. Following his presidency, Carter continued to champion humanitarian causes, turning Habitat for Humanity into a global force and founding the Carter Center to advocate for human rights, an effort that garnered him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Even in his later years, Carter remained vocal about democratic values. In the wake of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, he penned an opinion piece for The New York Times criticizing those who propagated the falsehood that the presidential election had been stolen, noting the resulting erosion of trust in the electoral system.