Vatican confirms Pope Leo voted in midterm elections and submitted absentee ballot

The Vatican confirmed Friday that Pope Leo had submitted his absentee ballot, making him the first pontiff in history to vote in a U.S. election.

“Pope Leo

The Vatican also confirmed that the pope “exercised his right to vote whenever he had the right to do so,” including when he lived in Peru.

“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the statement said.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that Chicago-born Pope Leo is still a registered voter in Illinois and has requested an absentee ballot for the Oct. 3 midterm elections through the Will County Clerk’s Office.

“Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of people who have requested an absentee ballot for the upcoming election,” Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the Will County clerk, told the Sun-Times.

Records show Prevost voted in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Republican primaries, as well as the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2024 general elections. He also voted in the Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010. He did not vote in the March Illinois primary. In Illinois, voters are not required to register by party and can choose parties for their primary ballot.

Pope has now weighed in on the U.S. Senate race to replace Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. JB Pritzker’s re-election bid, as well as Will County’s judicial and county races, among other races.

The Illinois State Board of Elections said Thursday that any registered voter in Illinois can vote by mail and that U.S. citizens who are overseas have the right to do so through a law called UOCAVA, The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

Pritzker took note of the pope’s vote on social media Thursday, writing, “If the Pope can vote from Vatican City, so can you!”