Pope Leo XIV casts first-ever papal vote in US general election
The Chicago-born pontiff submitted a mail-in ballot in Will County ahead of the November midterms.
By Tyler Khalil ·
The Vatican confirmed on Friday that Pope Leo XIV has cast the first ballot by a pope in a United States general election. The Holy See stated that the pontiff, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, submitted a mail-in vote in Chicago prior to the midterm elections scheduled for November.
The press office of the Holy See said Leo has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen whenever he was eligible. The statement added that he also voted while residing in Peru. “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the office said.
The Chicago Sun-Times first reported the vote, citing the chief of staff at the Will County clerk’s office. According to that official, the pope, who is registered at a New Lenox address, requested a mail-in ballot on October 3. It is not yet clear how the completed ballot was returned. His brother, John Prevost, was in Rome this week accompanying parishioners from St. Jude’s in New Lenox, a parish where Leo attended Mass and delivered a talk in 2024.
Records from the Illinois State Board of Elections show that Robert Prevost has voted in five primary elections since 2000. He requested Democratic primary ballots twice and Republican primary ballots three times. Illinois law requires voters to declare a party preference to receive a primary ballot, but no such declaration is necessary for general elections. The records do not indicate which specific candidates he supported.
The voting history reflects a change in residence and party alignment. While registered in Cook County, a heavily Democratic area, Prevost requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010. After moving to the more conservative suburban Will County, he requested Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014, and 2016.
The state records also show that he submitted ballots in every general election since 2000, with the exception of the 2020 and 2022 cycles. The next step in the electoral process is the counting of mail-in ballots in Illinois, which will determine if the pope’s vote is included in the final totals for his district.
