Pope Leo XIV has become the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election.
The Vatican confirmed Friday that the Chicago-born pontiff had submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of November’s midterm elections, citing his long-standing belief in civic participation.
Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen” and has done so “whenever he was eligible to do so,” the Holy See press office said.
The statement said he had also voted while living in Peru whenever he was eligible.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” it added.
Leo’s vote was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, which quoted the chief of staff at the Will County clerk’s office as saying the pope, registered at a New Lenox address, requested a mail-in ballot on Oct. 3.
It is unclear how Leo returned the ballot. His brother, John Prevost, was in Rome this week accompanying parishioners from St. Jude’s, an Augustinian-run parish in New Lenox, Illinois. The elder Prevost attends Mass there, and Leo gave a talk at the parish in 2024 while still a cardinal.
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.
The records do not show which candidates he supported. Illinois voters must declare a party preference to receive a ballot in a primary, when parties choose their nominees for the general election. No such declaration is required in general elections.
While registered in heavily Democratic Cook County, 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 records also show that he submitted ballots in every general election since 2000 except those in 2020 and 2022.
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