Pope Leo XIV votes by mail in US midterm elections

Pope Leo XIV has cast a mail-in ballot in the U.S. midterm elections, becoming the first pontiff to vote in an American election, the Vatican said Friday. The American-born pope remains a registered voter in Illinois, where he requested a ballot earlier this month.

“Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” the Vatican press office said. “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.”

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported that Leo requested the ballot on Oct. 3. Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff at the Will County Clerk’s Office, confirmed the request to NBC News. CBS News reported that the pope is registered at an address in New Lenox, Illinois.

The reports differed on the ballot’s status: CBS News said the Vatican confirmed Leo had submitted it, while NBC News reported that the Will County clerk’s office had not yet received a completed ballot. The ballot must travel from Vatican City to Joliet, Illinois, NBC News said.

Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, became the first American pope in May 2025. The Vatican said he also voted when eligible during his years living in Peru.

Illinois election records show a history of voting, though the reports gave different accounts of his general-election participation. CBS News said records show he submitted ballots in every general election since 2000 except 2020 and 2022. NBC News specifically listed ballots cast in the 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections.

CBS News reported that Leo requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010 while registered in Cook County, then Republican primary ballots in Will County in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Illinois voters choose a party’s ballot for a primary but do not register by party, NBC News reported. The records do not show which candidates Leo supported.

The pope is recovering from lung cancer surgery and plans to travel to South America next month, according to CBS News. His brother, John Prevost, was in Rome this week with parishioners from St. Jude’s, an Augustinian-run parish in New Lenox where Leo spoke in 2024 while still a cardinal, CBS News reported.

Leo has publicly urged people to engage with events around them. “We cannot remain as unengaged spectators; rather, we must listen with our hearts, allow ourselves to be challenged, and become involved,” he told a Vatican audience in September, according to a quotation cited by CBS News.

NBC News reported that Leo has criticized some of President Donald Trump’s policies, including the administration’s treatment of immigrants and the U.S. war against Iran. After an exchange with Trump in April over the war, Leo told NBC News he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and would continue advocating for peace.