Pope Leo XIV has made history not only as the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church, but also as the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election, casting his ballot by mail.
A native of Chicago, the Holy Father born Robert Francis Prevost remains a registered voter in Illinois, and election officials in Will County confirmed that his name appears among those requesting a mail-in ballot for the upcoming midterm contests, according to Breitbart. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported that the Will County clerks office had verified his status as an active voter residing overseas.
Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election, Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the Will County clerks office, told the outlet. The request was reportedly submitted on October 3, underscoring that even from the Vatican, the pope has retained a tangible link to the civic life of his home country.
Public records indicate that he participated in the 2012, 2014, and 2016 Republican primaries in Illinois, as well as the 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024 general elections. Those same records show he also voted in the 2008 and 2010 Democrat primaries, suggesting a long-standing engagement with the American political process that predates his elevation to the papacy.
There is no such thing as an absentee ballot in Illinois law anymore. So anyone can vote by mail if they so choose. There is also a law called UOCAVA, The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act that is mostly for the military, but its also for U.S. citizens who are overseas, explained Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections. Any Illinois registered voter can vote by mail. Until 2010, it was considered absentee, and you had to have an excuse. But thats all gone away. So thats obviously what hes doing.
The Vatican confirmed Friday that the pope has already cast his ballot, with the Associated Press reporting that he is the first pope ever to vote in a U.S. general election. Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so, the Holy See Press Office said in a statement, adding that in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.
Since he did not renounce his U.S. citizenship when he became pope, he will remain eligible to vote in the United States so long as he chooses according to U.S. law, added the outlet. For many Americans who value both religious liberty and civic duty, the spectacle of an American pope quietly exercising his franchise by mail underscores how deeply intertwined faith, citizenship, and individual responsibility remain in the modern West.
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