Pope Leo XIV, a registered voter in Illinois, is preparing to vote in next week’s midterm elections after requesting an absentee ballot at his Vatican City residence.
Leo, whose birth name is Robert Francis Prevost, filed for the ballot on Oct. 3, Will County Clerk’s Office chief of staff Kim Fladhammer confirmed to NBC News on Thursday.
The Chicago Sun-Times was first to report the ballot request.
The clerk’s office told NBC News it had not yet received the complete ballot from Pope, who underwent lung cancer surgery this month. It is not yet known whether he filled out or mailed his ballot. If he does, he will be sent to Joliet, Illinois.
And by becoming the first American pope in May 2025, Leo would be the first pope to vote in a US election.
Since becoming pope, Leo has been an outspoken critic of some of Trump’s policies, including the U.S. war on Iran and the administration’s treatment of immigrants.
Leo and President Donald Trump clashed in April after Leo called for peace in the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28. Trump responded on social media by calling the pope “WEAK on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy” while taking credit for his papacy.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo,” Trump said at the time.
Leo responded to the remarks, telling NBC News he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and pledged to continue advocating for peace.
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, also leveled criticism at Leo. Vance said he should “be careful” when talking about theology, chastising him for his criticism of U.S. foreign policy.
Public records show Leo has voted in previous elections, and he voted in the 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024 general elections. He also voted in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016. Illinois voters do not register by party, and they can select the party they want to vote for each election cycle.
Leo’s ballot this year includes a series of solidly blue races. Its congressman is Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the brother of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., who is seeking re-election.
Democratic Senate candidate Juliana Stratton, the state’s lieutenant governor, is seeking to succeed outgoing Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.
Gov. JB Pritzker, meanwhile, is running for office, aspiring to become the state’s first Democrat elected to a third term as governor.
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