Pope Leo XIV Requests Mail Ballot to Vote in Illinois Midterm Elections

The Chicago-Born Pontiff Makes Voting History

Pope Leo XIV is poised to become the first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, the leader of the Catholic Church requested a mail-in ballot for the upcoming Illinois midterm elections while residing in Vatican City, according to county records first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times and confirmed by OSV News.

Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the Will County Clerk’s Office, verified to NBC News that the ballot request was officially placed on October 3. Registered at an address in New Lenox, Illinois—where his elder brother, John, lives—the pontiff’s completed envelope will have to travel a long way from Vatican City back to Joliet, Illinois, if he chooses to complete it.

A Long Voting Record Precedes the Papacy

Public voting records show that this is far from the first time the pope has participated in American civic life. Before ascending to the papacy in May 2025 following white smoke over the Sistine Chapel, Prevost compiled a history of casting ballots in his home state.

He may be the leader of the Catholic church, but Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV is still a registered voter in Illinois and requested a mail ballot for the midterm elections. https://t.co/paB59OCN74

— https://x.com/TinaSfon/status/2115921214237524344

State and county records show he voted in the general elections of 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024. His primary participation reflects a willingness to cross party lines in Illinois’ open-primary system, where voters do not register by political party. Prevost cast ballots in the Republican primaries of 2012, 2014, and 2016, as well as the Democratic primaries of 2008 and 2010. He did not vote in the state’s March primary this year.

By virtue of his dual citizenship as a citizen of both the United States and Peru, the 71-year-old pontiff maintains eligibility to vote from abroad, alongside standard Illinois vote-by-mail procedures.

What Remains Unresolved in Will County

As of late October, local election officials confirmed that the physical ballot had not yet arrived back in Illinois. NBC News reported that it remains unclear whether the pope has filled out or mailed his ballot yet, given a demanding schedule that recently included lung cancer surgery.

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Pope Leo returned to the Vatican on October 18, four days after having part of his right lung removed. The surgery confirmed that Leo had lung adenocarcinoma. Despite recovering and slowly resuming public duties—including a recent audience with a delegation of Chicago clergy and religious leaders—the timing of his international mail-in ballot return hangs in the balance.

If received in time, the ballot will weigh in on a slate of local and statewide contests. Will County voters this cycle are deciding races for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Dick Durbin—where Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is the Democratic nominee—alongside JB Pritzker’s bid for re-election and various county and judicial posts.

Friction With Washington and a Defense of Democracy

The voting request unfolds against a backdrop of public friction between the Vatican and the Trump administration. Since his election, Pope Leo has emerged as an outspoken critic of several key U.S. policies, voicing opposition to mass deportations, family separations, military strikes, and the U.S. war against Iran.

Pope Leo XIV Requests Mail Ballot to Vote in Illinois Midterm Elections — Photo: nbcnews.com

In April, President Donald Trump publicly criticized the pope on social media following papal calls for peace regarding U.S.-Israeli strikes, calling him “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.” Vice President JD Vance also cautioned the pontiff regarding his theological commentary on foreign affairs.

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Aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria, Pope Leo directly addressed the political friction, telling reporters, as cited by the Associated Press, that he harbors “no fear of the Trump administration” and remains committed to the message of the Gospel. That public stance echoes remarks he delivered earlier this spring at a plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, where he argued that authentic democracy requires active civic participation.

Pope Leo told participants at the Vatican assembly that “democracy remains healthy, however, only when rooted in the moral law and a true vision of the human person.” He further noted that democracy offers people the possibility of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.

Whether that personal philosophy translates into a completed ballot landing in Joliet before election day depends entirely on an international transit route connecting St. Peter’s Square to the American Midwest.