Pope Leo Becomes First Pontiff to Cast Ballot in US Election

Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born leader of the Catholic Church, has cast a mail-in ballot in the United States midterm elections, marking the first known instance of a sitting pope voting in any political election in the Church’s history.

The Vatican confirmed the move on Friday, stating that the Chicago-born pontiff “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so.” The Holy See Press Office added that, “in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.” It further noted that Leo, who holds dual US and Peruvian citizenship, also voted in Peru during his years as a missionary and bishop there whenever eligible.

“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the statement said.

Born Robert Francis Prevost on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Leo was elected pope in May 2025 following the death of Pope Francis. He remains registered to vote in Illinois under his birth name at an address in New Lenox, a southwest suburb of Chicago belonging to his brother. Records from the Will County clerk’s office show he requested the mail-in ballot on October 3. That request came just days before he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung; he was discharged on October 17 and has been gradually resuming public duties.

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Illinois election records indicate Prevost was a consistent voter before ascending to the papacy. He requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010, and Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016. He also participated in general elections in 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024, among others. The Vatican has not disclosed which candidates or party he supported in the current midterms, and the completed ballot’s return from Vatican City to Illinois remains a logistical detail under scrutiny.

The timing carries particular weight. Americans go to the polls on November 3 to decide control of both chambers of Congress, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats contested, alongside dozens of governorships. The outcome will shape the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term. In Illinois, voters will choose a successor to retiring Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and decide whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker to a third term.

Leo’s participation arrives against a backdrop of sharp public friction with the Trump administration. Earlier this year the pope repeatedly criticised the harsh US immigration crackdown and the US-Israel military campaign against Iran, calling for peace, dialogue and an end to violence. Trump responded by branding the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” declaring he was “not a fan.”

Leo replied that he was “not afraid” of the administration and would continue speaking out against war, framing the Church’s message as rooted in the Gospel rather than partisan politics.

In September, during a general audience in St Peter’s Square, Leo urged the faithful to reject “all passivity and indifference,” declaring: “We cannot remain as unengaged spectators; rather, we must listen with our hearts, allow ourselves to be challenged, and become involved.”

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed the pope’s example. Spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said the Holy Father “sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility,” stressing that the focus for Catholics should be informed conscience, human dignity and the common good rather than any particular candidate.

Leo’s vote underscores an unusual dual identity: head of a sovereign state (Vatican City) yet still a US citizen living abroad entitled to absentee ballots under federal law. Legal experts note that American citizenship and voting rights are not automatically extinguished by residence in the Vatican or dual nationality.

As the midterms approach, the image of the world’s most prominent religious leader quietly posting a ballot from Rome to suburban Illinois has drawn global attention. For the first American pope, the act appears less a political statement than a deliberate affirmation of the civic duty he has long practised and now publicly models.