Papal ballot: Pope Leo XIV votes by mail in Illinois

Pope Leo XIV has mailed in a ballot for the U.S. midterm elections, becoming the first pope to vote in an American race.

The Vatican said on Friday that Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago. The Holy See press office said he "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen" and has done so "whenever he was eligible to do so." The office added that he also voted while living in Peru, and that "The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes."

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported the ballot. Its account quoted the chief of staff at the Will County clerk's office as saying the pope, who is registered at a New Lenox address, requested a mail-in ballot on Oct. 3. How the ballot got back to election officials is not known. The pope's brother, John Prevost, was in Rome this week with parishioners from St. Jude's, an Augustinian parish in New Lenox. He attends Mass there, and Leo spoke at the parish in 2024, when he was still a cardinal.

Illinois State Board of Elections records show that Prevost has requested a ballot in five primaries since 2000: Democratic ballots in 2008 and 2010, Republican ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Illinois voters name a party to get a primary ballot, which parties use to pick nominees for the general election. General elections require no such declaration, and the records do not show which candidates he picked.

The address on his registration shifted the party he asked for. He was registered in Cook County, where he requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010. After he moved to the more conservative suburban Will County, he asked for Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

The same records show ballots in every general election from 2000 through 2018, with none in 2020 or 2022.