Voting for Harris another milestone in former President Jimmy Carter's legacy

Plains, Ga. — 

In a cavernous store filled with trinkets and knick-knacks, Philip Kurland is surrounded by politics.

“We’re the largest governmental memorabilia trader successful the United States,” helium tells VOA arsenic helium sorts done galore bins that enactment his shop.

If there’s a fastener oregon badge supporting a governmental candidate, chances are Kurland has it, arsenic helium stops and inspects 1 fastener successful particular.

“This is the fig 1 fastener radical petition and travel successful for,” arsenic helium proudly shows an representation of a smiling peanut shell.

Every 4 years, Kurland stocks up connected items featuring the candidates of the moment, and gauges enactment by the measurement of related memorabilia helium sells.

“Our income person ever equaled to who has won,” said Kurland. “This year’s predetermination is truly hard to adjacent accidental by my sales.”

His store isn’t conscionable immoderate mean store successful the country. It’s the Plains Trading Post … arsenic successful Plains, Georgia, the hometown of erstwhile U.S. President Jimmy Carter with a colonisation of astir 600 people, wherever the streets are lined with dueling signs from the existent predetermination supporting some Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

“For the archetypal clip ever, I’d accidental determination was immoderate hostility implicit the upcoming election,” Kurland told VOA.

In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won Sumter County which encompasses Plains, and narrowly won the authorities of Georgia by 11,779 votes retired of much than 5 cardinal cast.

“It’s shocking that we’re a battleground authorities now,” said Kurland, acknowledging that polls proceed to amusement a adjacent contention successful Georgia this predetermination rhythm wherever some campaigns admit each ballot counts, including a salient 1 formed by mail-in ballot from the astir celebrated nonmigratory of Plains.

“I don’t deliberation he’d miss immoderate accidental to vote,” said Kurland, “I tin retrieve 1 clip erstwhile they passed a caller instrumentality successful the authorities that you had to amusement an ID, and helium went to ballot and didn’t person an ID, and they said, ‘you can’t vote.’

And helium said, ‘I’m the president of the United States!’ and they said, ‘well, we’re sorry,’ and helium had to spell location and get an ID to vote, which I thought was hilarious.”

“He was excited to crook 100, but he’s much excited to formed his ballot for Vice President Harris,” Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson, explained to VOA during a caller interview.

Jason Carter presently serves arsenic president of the committee of the erstwhile president’s planetary nonprofit Carter Center.

“It would beryllium an unthinkable story, astatine the extremity of his 100-year life, that is continuing connected arsenic we know, to person grown up successful the segregated southbound and for 1 of his past governmental acts is to assistance elite a Black pistillate who is simply a president, I bash deliberation it would beryllium important,” helium said.

“Jimmy Carter has already said it was important for him to ballot for Barack Obama successful 2008,” said Joe Crespino, a prof of past astatine Emory University.

Crespino believes Carter’s ballot this twelvemonth is straight connected to his legacy, specifically his efforts to get the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, oregon ERA — which prohibits enactment favoritism — ratified by immoderate U.S. states portion helium was president successful the 1970s.

“Voting for the archetypal pistillate campaigner of colour would beryllium important for him not lone due to the fact that of his experiences with contention implicit the people of his beingness but besides his experiences successful trying to beforehand women successful nationalist life,” helium said.

More than 40 years aft Carter served successful the White House, the ERA is inactive an unsettled contented arsenic ineligible debates implicit its ratification continue.

Jason Carter believes with a ballot successful the 2024 election, his gramps is reasoning arsenic overmuch astir the aboriginal arsenic helium is the past.

“I deliberation helium wants to spot this state brought backmost together,” said Carter. “I deliberation helium wants to trim that polarization; I deliberation helium wants america to absorption connected what makes america Americans archetypal and fundamentally, and I deliberation helium thinks she [Harris] tin bash that.”

Kurland said not everyone successful Plains agrees with Jimmy Carter, oregon his campaigner of choice, arsenic helium sees not conscionable the tourists but immoderate of the locals stopping successful to prime up memorabilia.

“Some days you can’t get 8 radical to accidental the prima is shining astatine the aforesaid time,” helium said.

But Kurland admits everyone successful Plains honors the antheral who continues to gully tens of thousands of tourists to their tiny municipality each year.

“Even though he’s travel retired for Kamala Harris, everyone that’s not for her would instantly forgive him and inactive emotion him,” Kurland said.

As predetermination time nears, Jimmy Carter continues to person hospice attraction successful his humble location successful Plains connected the borderline of town, not acold from the Depression-era boyhood workplace wherever his communicative began 100 years ago.