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Pope Leo XIV Votes in US Midterm Elections
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In Short: The Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago-born American citizen, voted by mail in the US midterm elections.
The Vatican confirmed Friday that Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago-born American citizen, had submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Since becoming pope, Leo has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump for repeatedly condemning the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and calling for dignified treatment of immigrants.
Leo, who was born as Robert Francis Prevost, has voted in Illinois elections since 2000, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times.
The Chicago Sun-Times first reported the pope's request for a mail-in ballot on Oct. 23, citing sources who said someone close to the pope had asked for the ballot to be sent to his registered address in New Lenox.
The Vatican statement said, “Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” and added that he submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.
Leo’s vote marks the first time a pope has voted in a U.S. Election, setting a precedent in Church history.
The Holy See Press Office said the pope regards participation in democratic processes as both a fundamental right and a civic duty.
The pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, is registered at a New Lenox, Illinois, address — the same suburban Chicago town in which his elder brother John lives.
Leo’s vote in the midterm elections comes amid contentious elections around the world, with Democrats favored to gain control of the lower chamber of Congress.
The pope’s decision to vote has been met with mixed reactions, with some praising his civic engagement and others questioning the propriety of a religious leader participating in political processes.
What this adds
Leo’s vote marks the first time a pope has voted in a U.S. election, setting a precedent in Church history.
The Vatican statement implies that Leo did not vote in the recent Peruvian general elections, suggesting he did not vote while residing in Peru.
Leo’s voting history in Illinois shows he has voted in every general election since 2000 except those in 2020 and 2022, including five primary elections.
Leo’s vote in the midterm elections comes amid contentious elections around the world, with Democrats favored to gain control of the lower chamber of Congress.
Background
Candidates and political groups are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2026 midterm elections, with major PACs and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk contributing to the financial battle.
President Trump held a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday, the last in a series of campaign events aimed at boosting Republican candidates for the upcoming midterm elections.
What's confirmed
- The Vatican confirmed Friday that the Chicago-born pontiff had submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, citing his long-standing belief in civic participation.
- Since 2000, Robert Prevost has voted in five primary elections, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times, according to records held by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
- No such declaration is required in general elections.
- Since becoming pope, Leo has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump for repeatedly condemning the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and calling for dignified treatment of immigrants.
- “Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election,” Fladhammer said, using Leo’s birth name.
- WJOL in Joliet first reported the request on Oct. 23, citing sources who said someone close to the pope had asked for the ballot to be sent to his registered address in New Lenox.
- Pope Leo XIV, a registered voter in Illinois, has voted in next week’s midterm elections after he requested a mail ballot at his residence in Vatican City.
- The Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo XIV voted in the United States midterm elections, stating, “Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” and adding that he submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.
- With the midterm elections approaching in the United States, the Conference has been encouraging Catholics to exercise their right to vote and to do so in a way that places our faith before our politics.
- The Holy See Press Office confirmed on Friday that Pope Leo XIV, an American citizen, has voted in the US midterm elections.
- Public records show that he voted in the 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024 general elections.
- Pope Leo XIV has become the first pope in history known to have voted in a US general election after casting a mail-in ballot in Illinois ahead of the November 3, midterm elections.
What's still developing
- Tensions escalated between the Pope and the US president in April, after the Pope called for peace in the wake of US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
- The pope has been recovering and resuming his activities at the Vatican after being released from the hospital Oct. 17 and is moving ahead with plans for a trip to South America next month.
- Indeed, records held by the Illinois State Board of Elections show that Robert Prevost has voted in every general election since 2000 except those in 2020 and 2022, including five primary elections.
- Indeed, as far as is known at the time of writing, neither of Leo’s other immediate predecessors—Karol Wojtyla from Poland, who was pope from 1978-2005, nor Joseph Ratzinger from Germany, who was pope from 2005 till his resignation in 2013—voted in elections in their homelands during the years of their respective pontificates.
- The Vatican statement says he voted “during his years of residence in Peru,” implying that he did not vote in the recent Peruvian general elections, April 12-13, 2026, to elect the president, vice presidents and the congress, or in the runoff election for the president on June 7.
- The pontiff, a Chicago native, did not reveal who he voted for.
- This election, Illinois voters are deciding whether to elect Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to his third term, and they're also filling an open U.S. Senate seat after longtime Catholic Democrat Dick Durbin's retirement.
- The most anticipated return: Leo XIV returns today to the embrace of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano The Pope makes a pilgrimage this September 7 to the historic Marian shrine, on an official trip that rekindles the deep devotion that marked his first steps after his election Today, September 7, on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Pope Leo XIV is making one of the most significant Marian appearances of his pontificate by returning to the Basilica-Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano.
- It published an article on May 9, the day after Leo XIV’s election, with comments from people who knew the Pope when he was still Father or Bishop Robert Prevost.
- Before joining Raw Story, he wrote for Shareblue and AlterNet, specializing in election and policy coverage.
- There’s one language he is said to speak that we haven’t seen him use in public as pope: Quechua.
- Polls suggest Democrats are the favourite to gain control of the lower chamber of Congress, called the House of Representatives, and are poised to win seats in Republican-leaning areas that overwhelmingly voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.