Pope Leo XIV submits mail ballot for Illinois midterms

Pope Leo XIV has cast his vote in the upcoming Illinois midterm elections by mail. The Vatican press office confirmed the action in a statement released on October 30, noting that the pope exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen. This marks the first time a sitting pope has participated in a U.S. electoral process.

County records show the pope requested a mail ballot on October 3. Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the Will County clerk’s office, verified that Robert Francis Prevost, the pope’s pre-election name, was on the list of individuals who requested such ballots. The Will County ballot includes races for the U.S. Senate and governor, as well as several county and judicial posts. As of October 29, the county had not yet received the completed ballot.

The pope is registered at an address in New Lenox, Illinois, a suburban Chicago town where his elder brother John resides. Prevost maintains dual citizenship, holding both U.S. and Peruvian passports. The Vatican statement emphasized that he also voted in eligible elections during his years of residence in Peru, describing this as a long-standing practice of civic participation.

Voting records cited by the Chicago Sun-Times indicate a history of participation across multiple parties and election types. Prevost voted in the 2008 and 2010 Democratic primaries and the 2012, 2014, and 2016 Republican primaries. He also participated in the general elections of 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024. He did not vote in the state’s March primary this year. Illinois voters do not register by party and may choose different parties for primary ballots.

Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the pope’s action encourages citizens to exercise civic responsibility. She noted that the bishops have been encouraging Catholics to vote by placing faith before politics and informing their conscience. In an April address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Pope Leo described democracy as healthy only when rooted in moral law and a true vision of the human person.

The pope cited St. John Paul II, who affirmed that the Church values democracy because it ensures participation in political choices. He referenced the 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus, which states that democracy offers people the possibility of electing and holding accountable those who govern them. The Vatican statement said the pope believes in the right and duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.