Pope Leo XIV has made history by becoming the first reigning pontiff to vote in a United States general election. The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago, his birthplace, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
The Vatican’s press office stated that the pontiff, formerly known as Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen” in line with his longstanding belief in civic participation. “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the statement added. The Vatican did not disclose which candidates Leo supported on his ballot.
The vote drew praise from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. In an accompanying note, the conference urged Catholics to place their faith before politics and to uphold human dignity and the common good. Chieko Noguchi, the conference’s director of public affairs, remarked that the Holy Father sets an example encouraging every citizen to fulfill their civic duty.
In addition to his US citizenship, Leo holds citizenship in Peru—where he served as a priest and bishop for more than two decades—and in the Vatican, where he serves as head of state. Under US federal law, citizens residing abroad, including those employed by foreign governments, retain the right to vote via absentee ballot. While the US State Department notes that serving as a foreign head of state or government may trigger an active review of citizenship status, such service does not automatically result in the loss of US nationality.
In Illinois, voters participating in the midterm cycle are tasked with choosing a successor to retiring Senator Dick Durbin and deciding whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker. Leo requested his mail-in ballot on October 3, just 10 days prior to undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung. Following his discharge from the hospital on October 17, he has gradually resumed his responsibilities at the Vatican.
Electoral records from the Illinois State Board of Elections indicate that Leo has participated in five primary elections since 2000 under his birth name, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times. Because Illinois primary voters must declare a party affiliation, Prevost voted via Democratic ballots in 2008 and 2010 while registered in Cook County, and via Republican ballots in 2012, 2014, and 2016 after moving to Will County. These records do not specify individual candidate selections.
The historic vote unfolds against a backdrop of diplomatic friction between the pontiff and US President Donald Trump since Leo’s elevation to the papacy in May 2025. President Trump has previously criticized the pope for condemning the US-Israel war on Iran and for challenging administration policies targeting immigrants, at one point labeling Leo “weak” and aligned with the “radical left.”
Addressing reporters regarding the friction, Leo asserted his independence: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the church works for.”
