Pope Leo becomes first pope ever to vote in US election, submits mail-in ballot
What happened
Pope Leo XIV has mailed in his ballot for the US midterm elections, making him the first pope to vote in an American election, the Vatican said on Friday.
The 71-year-old, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, registered in Illinois and requested his ballot on October 3, according to US media reports.
The Vatican did not say whom he voted for, and the Holy See press office said he has voted as a US citizen whenever he was eligible.
The Vatican also said he voted while living in Peru, where he holds citizenship.
Illinois voters will choose a successor to retiring Senator Dick Durbin and decide whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker in Tuesday's midterms.
The pope has clashed with President Donald Trump over immigration enforcement, the Iran war and press freedom, according to the BBC and DW.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.”
Holy See Press Office via BBC
Summary written by AI from 3 independent sources (BBC, Cyprus Mail, DW) and checked automatically against them for copied text and numbers that are not in the sources. How we work
Open on the live globe →Who reported it
- 2026-10-30 14:02 UTCSCMP via AP · scmp.com ↗
- 2026-10-30 14:48 UTCBBC · bbc.co.uk ↗
- 2026-10-30 14:58 UTCCyprus Mail · cyprus-mail.com ↗
- 2026-10-30 15:10 UTCCapital FM same text as BBC · capitalfm.africa ↗
- 2026-10-30 16:03 UTCCBC · cbc.ca ↗
- 2026-10-30 16:14 UTCDW · dw.com ↗
- 2026-10-30 17:17 UTCMercoPress · en.mercopress.com ↗
- 2026-10-30 21:41 UTCCNA · channelnewsasia.com ↗
- 2026-10-31 01:31 UTCAl Jazeera · aljazeera.com ↗
- 2026-10-31 09:30 UTCArab Times via AP · arabtimesonline.com ↗
- 2026-10-31 11:14 UTCIOL same text as CNA · iol.co.za ↗
- 2026-10-31 13:02 UTCThe Hindu · thehindu.com ↗
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