Four days before the midterms, one absentee ballot out of Illinois is making history.
The Vatican confirmed on Friday that Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pontiff who was known as Robert Prevost before his election, has submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. According to the Associated Press, that makes him the first pope ever to vote in a U.S. general election. The Guardian described it as the first time a sitting pope is known to have cast a ballot in any political election.
What the Vatican said
The Holy See Press Office said the pope “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” and that, “in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.”
The statement added that during his years living in Peru, he also voted whenever he was eligible, and that “the Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.”
The Vatican did not say how he voted, and a U.S. ballot is secret.
How it came to light
According to CBS News, the Chicago Sun-Times first reported the vote, citing the chief of staff at the Will County clerk’s office. The pope, registered at an address in New Lenox, Illinois, requested his mail-in ballot on October 3, shortly before he underwent surgery earlier this month.
A voting record that crosses party lines
Illinois election records cited by the AP show Prevost has a long history of voting. He cast ballots in Democratic primaries in some years and Republican primaries in others, and he voted in every general election since 2000 except 2020 and 2022. Illinois has closed primaries, so voters must pick a party’s ballot in a primary, but no party declaration is needed in a general election.
Why it matters now
The pope’s ballot lands in the middle of a record-setting early vote. Reuters reported that more than 46 million Americans had already voted as of Friday morning, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, surpassing the total from the 2022 midterms.
Leo became the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and he has clashed with President Trump on several issues, including the war with Iran and the administration’s treatment of immigrants. Those disagreements will make many Americans wonder which way he leaned, but that is one secret the Vatican is keeping.
All 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governor’s races are on the ballot on Tuesday, November 3.