Pope votes in US midterms from the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV has voted by mail in the United States midterm elections, the Vatican confirmed. He is the first pope to take part in a US election. The pope, born Robert Francis Prevost, is a US citizen and keeps his right to vote. He requested a ballot and sent it by mail from Chicago, the Vatican said in a statement. Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the clerk's office in Will County, Illinois, confirmed this to the Chicago Sun-Times. The pope keeps his voter registration and a registered home in New Lenox, Illinois. "The Holy Father has sent his vote by mail from Chicago," the Holy See said. It added that he "expresses his conviction in the right and duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes." The Vatican also said the pope voted during the years he lived in Peru, whenever he met the requirements. Election records show Prevost has voted in past Democratic and Republican primaries and in several general elections, including 2024. Illinois does not require voters to join a party, and voters choose a party's ballot in each primary. Prevost chose the Democratic ballot in 2008 and 2010 and the Republican ballot in 2012, 2014 and 2016. He did not vote in the primaries held last March. Leo XIV was elected pope on May 8, 2025, and is the first American to lead the Catholic Church. His differences with Donald Trump over migration and international conflicts, and his support for multilateralism, have created tensions with the US president, who tried to influence the result of the conclave.