Pope Leo XIV Submits Mail-In Ballot for US Midterm Elections

Pope Leo XIV has submitted a mail-in ballot in Illinois for the United States midterm elections, the Holy See Press Office announced. A mail-in ballot is a paper ballot that a voter fills in and returns by post instead of voting at a polling station. The nationwide midterms are scheduled for 3 November.

The pope was born in Chicago and was selected in May 2025. He is the first US citizen to hold the papacy, the top office of the Catholic Church, and, according to BBC, the first pope to vote in a US election.

He is registered to vote in New Lenox, Illinois, according to ABC7 Chicago. He requested his mail-in ballot from the Will County Clerk's Office on 3 October. The clerk's office told NBC News that it had not yet received a completed ballot from him.

The Holy See, the Vatican's governing body, said in a statement that the pope believes citizens have both the right and the duty to take part in democratic processes. The press office said he has used his right to vote as a US citizen whenever he was eligible, including during his years in Peru. In its announcement, the office said he had voted in the midterm elections.

The pope, who is 71, is scheduled to travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in early November.