Pope Leo XIV Mails In Illinois Ballot Ahead of Nov. 3 Election

Pope Leo XIV has cast a mail-in ballot in Illinois, making him the first known sitting pope to vote in a US presidential election. The Vatican confirmed the ballot was submitted Friday, Oct. 30, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The 71-year-old pontiff, born Robert Francis Prevost, is registered to an address in the Chicago suburb of New Lenox. He requested his mail-in ballot Saturday, Oct. 3, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. US citizens living abroad are permitted to vote by mail in federal elections.

"Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," the Vatican's press office said in a statement. The statement added that "the Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes." The Vatican said Leo has a history of participating in US elections and also voted while living in Peru.

Election records show Leo voted in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016, and in Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010. The Chicago native also took part in general elections in 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024. Illinois voters do not register with a political party and may choose which party's ballot to use in primary elections. The 2026 midterms in Illinois include the US Senate race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker's reelection bid.

The Vatican did not disclose which candidates Leo voted for. Leo has criticized Trump's policies since becoming pope in May 2025, including his mass deportation push, and has spoken against the Iran war and Israel's occupation of Palestine. In April, Trump called the pope "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy" in a post on Truth Social. Leo responded while traveling to Algeria: "I'm not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the church works for." Leo has said he does not plan to take sides in US party politics. "That's not what the Church is about," he said during an interview in September 2025. The vote follows surgery earlier in October to remove part of his right lung; the procedure confirmed he has lung adenocarcinoma.