{"id":12718,"date":"2026-10-31T02:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T02:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12718"},"modified":"2026-10-31T02:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T02:25:13","slug":"pope-leo-becomes-first-pontiff-to-vote-in-us-general-election-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12718","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to vote in US general election | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Vatican confirms the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November 3 midterm elections<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Pope Leo XIV has become the first pontiff to vote in a United States general election after casting a mail-in ballot in Chicago, where he was born.<\/p>\n

The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in the city ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, citing his longstanding belief in civic participation.<\/p>\n

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Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, \u201chas exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen\u201d, as he has done \u201cwhenever he was eligible to do so\u201d, the Vatican\u2019s press office said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The Vatican did not say which candidates Leo voted for.<\/p>\n

In a note commenting on Leo\u2019s vote, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Catholics to put \u201cour faith before our politics\u201d and \u201cuphold human dignity and the common good\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn voting, our Holy Father sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility,\u201d said the conference\u2019s director of public affairs, Chieko Noguchi.<\/p>\n

Leo is a citizen not only of the US but also of Peru, where he lived as a priest and bishop for more than 20 years, as well as of the Vatican, where he is head of state.<\/p>\n

US federal law allows citizens living abroad, even those working for foreign governments, to vote via absentee ballot.<\/p>\n

Americans working for foreign governments are not automatically at risk of losing their US citizenship, but the US State Department says on its website that it may \u201cactively review\u201d the citizenship status of Americans who \u201cserve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister\u201d.<\/p>\n

A regular voter<\/h2>\n

In this year\u2019s midterm elections, voters in the solidly \u2060Democratic state of Illinois, where Chicago is located, will select a successor to retiring Senator Dick Durbin and choose whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker.<\/p>\n

Leo requested a mail-in ballot on October 3, just 10 days before he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung. He has slowly been resuming his activities<\/a> at the Vatican after being released from the hospital on October 17.<\/p>\n

Since 2000, Leo has voted in five primary elections as Prevost, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times, according to records held by the Illinois State Board of Elections, which do not show which candidates he supported.<\/p>\n

Illinois voters must declare a party preference to receive a primary ballot.<\/p>\n

While registered in heavily-Democratic Cook County, Prevost requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010. After moving to the more conservative Will County, he requested Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.<\/p>\n

Clashes with Trump<\/h2>\n

Since Leo\u2019s ascent to the papacy in May 2025, US President Donald Trump has clashed with the pontiff several times.<\/p>\n

Trump criticised the pope for repeatedly condemning the US-Israel war on Iran and for challenging his administration\u2019s crackdown on immigrants.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Trump called Leo \u201cweak\u201d and captive to the \u201cradical left\u201d, kicking off a remarkable back-and-forth argument.<\/p>\n

Leo responded<\/a> by telling reporters: \u201cI\u2019m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the church works for.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Vatican confirms the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November 3 midterm elections Pope Leo XIV has become the first pontiff to vote in a United States general election after casting a mail-in ballot in Chicago, where he was born. The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the pope submitted a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t