Pope Leo votes in US mid term elections

Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash

Source: Will County Clerk Office, Vatican Media

Pope Leo has voted in the US midterm elections.

Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV requested a postal ballot to vote in the upcoming United States midterm elections.

The Will County Clerk's Office in Illinois verified that the Chicago-born pontiff submitted a request for an absentee ballot on 3 October 2026.

Pope Leo remains registered to vote in the Chicago suburb of New Lenox, Illinois, under his birth name, Robert Francis Prevost.

Because he became the first American pope in May 2025, casting this ballot makes him the first sitting pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church to vote in a secular US election.

As of 30 October 2026, local election officials stated they had not yet received a completed ballot from the Pope, and it remains unclear if he has filled it out or mailed it back ahead of the 3 November midterm elections.

As a US citizen, Pope Leo is entitled to vote in regional and national elections, including elections for the Illinois Governor, the US Senate, and the US House of Representatives.

Today, the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo XIV, has voted in the US midterm election, expressing his "belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes."

The Press Office stated: "in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago."

"The Holy Father has also confirmed that, during his years of residence in Peru he exercised his right to vote whenever he was eligible to do so," noted the statement.