Pope Leo XIV becomes first pontiff to cast a ballot in a U.S. election

Pope Leo XIV has cast a mail-in vote in the 2026 U.S. midterms, the first time a pope has voted in an American general election, according to 6abc Action News, The Philadelphia Inquirer and CBS Philadelphia. The Vatican confirmed the ballot on Friday.

The Holy See press office said Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, has voted as an American citizen at every opportunity he was eligible, and did the same during his years in Peru, 6abc reported. The office linked the decision to his view that taking part in democracy is both a right and an obligation.

The vote was first disclosed by the Chicago Sun-Times, both 6abc and the Inquirer said. According to the Inquirer, Kim Fladhammer, who serves as the Will County clerk's top aide, said the pope asked for a mail ballot on Oct. 3. He is registered to vote at a New Lenox, Illinois, address. How he sent the ballot back has not been disclosed.

Ten days after making that request, the pope had an operation to take out a cancerous tumor in his right lung, the Inquirer noted. Since leaving the hospital on Oct. 17, he has slowly taken up his work again.

According to the Inquirer, Leo is a citizen of both the United States and Peru, and he also leads the Holy See, a monarchy where no elections are held. The paper said federal law lets Americans living overseas vote absentee even when employed by a foreign government, while the State Department says it may look at the citizenship of Americans who become a foreign head of state.

State election records cited by both outlets show Prevost took part in five Illinois primaries since 2000. As a Cook County resident he chose Democratic ballots in 2008 and 2010; after relocating to Will County he picked Republican ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The records do not reveal his choices of candidates. Apart from 2020 and 2022, he voted in each general election over that span.

On this year's Illinois ballot, voters are deciding on a third term for Gov. JB Pritzker and choosing a successor to retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the Inquirer reported.

The Inquirer also reported that President Donald Trump has faulted the pope for his remarks on immigration and the war in Iran, and that the two men have had no phone conversation since Leo became pope in May 2025. A senior Vatican official said this week that tensions have since calmed.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops praised the pope's decision to vote. "In voting, our Holy Father sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility," said Chieko Noguchi, who directs public affairs for the bishops' group, according to the Inquirer.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia, 6abc Action News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/636