Election 2026: Pope Leo XIV becomes first pope to vote in US election

Pope Leo XIV has made history again.

He is the first pope to vote in a U.S. election

Read more trending news

The pontiff submitted a mail-in ballot for the Nov. 3 midterm election, The Associated Press reported.

The pontiff voted by mail in Will County, Illinois. The ballot contained races for governor and U.S. Senate. The ballot also included county races.

The county clerk’s office told the Chicago Sun-Times, “Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election.”

He requested a ballot, using a New Lenox address as his registration, on Oct. 3, 10 days before he underwent surgery for a lung tumor. He was released from the hospital on Oct. 17, the AP reported.

The Holy See said the pope “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen” and has done so “whenever he was eligible to do so,” the AP said.

The pope had previously voted when he lived in Peru as a missionary priest and bishop.

Election records said he voted in five primary elections since 2000, and requested two Democratic ballots while he was registered in heavily Democratic Cook County and three Republican ballots while registered in conservative Will County.

He also submitted ballots in every general election since 2000 except for 2020 and 2022, the AP reported.

The records do not, however, say who he supported. In primary elections, voters must declare a party preference, but general elections do not require it.

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

Pope Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, is a citizen of both the U.S. and Peru. He is also the head of state for the Holy See, a city-state that is an absolute monarchy with no elections.