Pope Leo XIV Becomes the First Pontiff to Vote in a US Election, Mailing His Ballot to Illinois

Pope Leo XIV has voted in the United States midterm elections. The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the Chicago-born pontiff has submitted a mail-in ballot in Illinois, making him the first head of the Catholic Church to vote in an American election.

The Holy See Press Office said the pope has used his right to vote as a US citizen whenever he was eligible, and that submitting his ballot was in keeping with that long-standing practice. The statement added that he believes citizens have both a right and a duty to take part in democratic processes. It also noted that he voted in Peru when eligible during his years as a missionary and bishop there.

How a pope ends up on an Illinois voter roll

Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, is still registered to vote at an address in New Lenox, a suburb in Will County, south-west of Chicago. Will County election officials said he requested a vote-by-mail ballot on October 3. Illinois lets any registered voter vote by mail, and a federal law protects the right of US citizens living abroad to vote absentee.

The Vatican did not say how the ballot was sent back. Its confirmation came a day after a Chicago newspaper first reported that the pope had requested a mail ballot.

County records show a mixed voting history. He voted in Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010, in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and in the general elections of 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024. He did not vote in Illinois's primary this March. Illinois voters do not register by party and pick a party's ballot at each primary, so his past choices offer little clue to how he voted this time.

What was on his ballot

The Illinois ballot includes the race to fill the US Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin and Governor JB Pritzker's bid for re-election, along with county and judicial contests in Will County. Pritzker used the news to urge turnout, posting that if the pope can vote from Vatican City, Illinois residents can too.

Why it matters

The vote is a first in the long history of the papacy, because no previous pope has held US citizenship. It also lands in a charged campaign. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, and the midterms will decide control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term.

Leo has spoken out on issues such as migration and war since his election in May 2025, and both parties closely parse what he says. By keeping his ballot private and framing the vote as a civic duty rather than an endorsement, the Vatican is trying to keep the pope out of partisan fights. Whether that works may depend on how campaigns in close races choose to use the news in the last weekend before polls open.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.