Pope Leo casts mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of US midterms

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of the November 3 midterm elections in the United States. The vote makes him the first pontiff known to have taken part in a US general election. The ballot was cast in the city where he was born, according to the Vatican.

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The Vatican said Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen and has done so whenever he was eligible. It said the pope believes citizens have both a right and a duty to participate in democratic processes. The Vatican did not disclose which candidates he selected, and no further details were given about the ballot itself.

The announcement drew comment from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which urged Catholics to put faith before politics and to uphold human dignity and the common good. Its director of public affairs, Chieko Noguchi, said the pope's vote sets an example that encourages each citizen to exercise civic responsibility. The Vatican's confirmation also comes as Leo has been gradually resuming activities after a recent hospital stay.

The vote carries symbolic weight because Leo is not only a US citizen but also a citizen of Peru and the head of state of the Vatican. US federal law allows citizens living abroad, including some who work for foreign governments, to vote by absentee ballot. The case also highlights the unusual legal and civic position of a pope who remains eligible to vote in his country of birth while leading the Catholic Church globally.

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The Vatican said Leo requested a mail-in ballot on October 3, shortly before he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung. He was released from hospital on October 17 and has since been slowly returning to his duties. The row also noted that since 2000, when he was still Robert Prevost, he voted in five primary elections, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times.

What remains unclear is how Leo voted in the midterms, as the Vatican did not identify any candidates or party preference. It is also not known whether the ballot will prompt any further comment from church officials or US election authorities. For now, the development stands as a rare intersection of Vatican leadership, US citizenship and electoral participation.

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