Pope Leo XIV has submitted a mail-in ballot for the United States midterm elections, the Vatican said on Friday, making him the first pope to vote in a US election.
“In keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago,” the Holy See press office said in a statement. “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.”
The Chicago-born pontiff, born Robert Francis Prevost, remains a US citizen even as head of state of the Holy See, and he is registered to vote in Will County, Illinois, at an address in the Chicago suburb of New Lenox, where his brother John lives. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported that the pope had requested a mail-in ballot, citing the Will County clerk’s office, which said the request was made on October 3.
A first for the papacy
Leo, 71, is the first American-born pope, elected by the world’s cardinals in May 2025 to lead the Catholic Church’s 1.4 billion members. The Vatican said he “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” including during his years living in Peru, where he spent more than two decades as a missionary priest and bishop and also holds citizenship.
British historian Michael Walsh, who has written books on the papacy, told CNN he did not think popes had voted in a democratic election before, making Leo’s ballot likely the first by a pope in a secular democratic election as well as the first in a US election. The Vatican did not say which candidates the pope voted for, and it is unclear how the ballot was returned.
What is on the Illinois ballot
The midterm elections are scheduled for November 3. In Illinois, voters will choose a successor to retiring Democratic US Senator Dick Durbin and decide whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker, alongside House, state and county races. The Vatican statement framed the vote as a matter of civic duty rather than an endorsement: it said nothing about any candidate or party.
Illinois does not register voters by party, and state records list Prevost as undeclared. Reports citing Illinois State Board of Elections records say he has voted in every general election since 2000 except those in 2020 and 2022, and that he requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010 and Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Those records do not reveal which candidates he chose in any election, and his midterm ballot will remain as private as any other voter’s.
Why it matters
A pope voting in a national election is without precedent in the modern papacy, and it comes from a pontiff who has repeatedly urged civic participation since his election. It also lands days before an election in which control of both chambers of Congress is at stake. The Vatican’s emphasis was on participation itself: the statement presented the ballot as the continuation of a long-standing personal practice, not as a political intervention.
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What is still unknown
The Vatican has not said when the ballot was sent, how it was returned, or whether it has been received by election officials. Earlier in the week, before the Vatican statement, a county official had said the ballot had not yet been received as of October 29. Those details do not change the central fact confirmed on Friday: the ballot has been submitted, according to the Vatican.
FAQ
Has any pope voted in a US election before?
No. The Vatican confirmed on October 30 that Pope Leo XIV is the first pope to vote in a US election.
Is Pope Leo XIV still a US citizen?
Yes. He was born in Chicago, remains a US citizen, and also holds Peruvian citizenship. US citizens living abroad may vote by absentee ballot.
Who did the pope vote for?
That is not known, and the Vatican did not say. His ballot is private, like any other voter’s.
Sources
- Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pope-leo-becomes-first-pontiff-cast-ballot-us-election-2026-10-30/
- CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/30/europe/pope-leo-voting-us-midterms-intl?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_meta
- Catholic Review: https://catholicreview.org/vatican-confirms-pope-leo-xiv-voted-by-mail-in-illinois-midterms/
