Pope Leo XIV has become the first sitting pope known to cast a ballot in a United States general election, the Vatican confirmed on Friday, October 30, submitting a mail-in ballot in his home state of Illinois ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections.
The Chicago-born pontiff, born Robert Francis Prevost, remains a United States citizen and is registered to vote in New Lenox, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. According to the Will County clerk's office, cited by the Chicago Sun-Times, he requested a mail-in ballot on October 3.
What the Vatican said
The Holy See Press Office said Leo "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," and confirmed that "in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago." The Vatican added that the pope believes "in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," and noted that he also voted whenever he was eligible during his years living in Peru.
The Vatican has not disclosed which candidates the pope supported, and his ballot choices remain private. Canon law keeps clergy out of active party politics, but it does not bar them from voting.
A ballot with Illinois' biggest races on it
Leo's Illinois ballot includes the race for governor, where Democratic Governor JB Pritzker is seeking a third term against Republican nominee Darren Bailey, and the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who has held it since 1997. Democrats are backing Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton for that seat, while Republicans are backing Don Tracy.
Leo, 71, became the first American-born pope when the College of Cardinals elected him on May 8, 2025, succeeding Pope Francis. No sitting pope before him was publicly known to have voted in an American election, in part because no previous pope had been a United States citizen.
A record early-vote wave
The pope's ballot is one of more than 53 million already cast before Election Day, a record for a midterm election, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab. That total is up from nearly 46 million early votes before Election Day in 2022, with Texas alone accounting for more than 7 million.
President Donald Trump is spending the final Sunday of the campaign rallying in Iowa and Kansas, two states with unexpectedly close Senate races, after first cancelling and then restoring the in-person events. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on Tuesday, November 3. Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority and a narrow 218-214 edge in the House.
Sources: Vatican / Holy See Press Office via Times of India, News18 and Charisma, October 30-31, 2026; Reuters, USA Today and University of Florida Election Lab, November 1, 2026.