Pope Leo votes. Let that sink in for a second. The leader of about 1.4 billion Catholics lives inside Vatican City, and he still got his ballot in for Tuesday’s midterms. On Friday, the Vatican confirmed that Leo XIV submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago. That makes him the first pope in history to vote in a US general election, the Associated Press reports.
So here is the uncomfortable question. If the pope can vote from Rome, what is your excuse?
Key Takeaways
- The Vatican confirmed Friday that Pope Leo XIV submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago for the Nov. 3 midterms.
- He is the first pope known to vote in a US election. He also voted while living in Peru.
- He requested the ballot on Oct. 3 through the Will County clerk’s office in Illinois.
- His primary record is mixed, with Democratic ballots in 2008 and 2010 and Republican ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
- How he voted is secret, and it should stay that way.
What the Vatican Said
The Holy See press office kept it short. “Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” the statement said. It added that “in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.”
Then came the line every American should read twice. “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.” He also voted during his years in Peru, the Vatican said. USA Today notes he is a citizen there, too. Notice the word duty, though. Not hobby. Not mood. Duty.
The Chicago Sun-Times broke the story Thursday. Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, is still registered to vote in Illinois. “Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election,” Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the Will County clerk, told the paper.
Pope Leo Votes, and He Had Every Reason Not To
Think about his month. He requested that ballot on Oct. 3. Ten days later, he had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung, AP reports. He left the hospital Oct. 17 and has been slowly getting back to work. Even so, he followed through.
Meanwhile, millions of healthy Americans will skip Tuesday because it rained, or traffic was bad, or they figured their vote did not matter. That is not a hardship. That is a choice.
Even Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat on the ballot himself, made the same point. “If the Pope can vote all the way from Vatican City, you can too!” he posted, according to the Sun-Times. On this one, he is right. Voting is not a spectator sport, and the scoreboard does not care how loudly you cheered from the couch.
This Is How Mail Voting Should Work
Conservatives have fair questions about mail ballots, and this story actually answers some of them. When Pope Leo votes by mail, he goes through the same steps as any Illinois voter. First, he asked for the ballot. Next, the county clerk logged the request. Now the ballot has to travel from Vatican City back to the clerk’s office in Joliet. As of Thursday, the office told NBC News it had not yet received the completed ballot.
That is a real chain of custody. A verified voter makes a request, the county keeps a record, and the ballot returns to a known office under a firm deadline. In addition, Americans living abroad can vote under a federal law called UOCAVA, which has covered military and overseas ballots since 1986. That system works because it has rules. It is a model, not a loophole.
Mail voting should look like that everywhere: requested, tracked, verified and on time. We have pushed for exactly that standard in our coverage of noncitizen ballots in California.
Don’t Read Tea Leaves on How Pope Leo Votes
Some people will try to guess his picks. Don’t bother. Records show he took Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010 in Cook County. Then, after moving to suburban Will County, he took Republican ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016. He skipped Illinois’ March primary, the Sun-Times reports. Those records also do not show which candidates he picked, AP notes.
To be fair, Leo has clashed publicly with President Trump this year over the Iran war and immigration. Plenty of conservatives disagree with him on both. Still, a secret ballot is secret for a reason, and that protection applies to popes and plumbers alike.
Your Turn Before Tuesday
As a Christian, I am encouraged when a faith leader treats citizenship as a responsibility, not an afterthought. Scripture tells us to seek the good of the place where we live. Showing up is part of that. Tens of millions of Americans have already voted early, as we covered in our early voting breakdown. The rest of us have until Tuesday, Nov. 3.
So check your registration, find your polling place and make a plan. If Pope Leo votes from Vatican City, you can get yourself down the street. For more conservative takes on the midterms, visit World of Payne and follow the show on X, Facebook and Instagram.
