Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to vote in US general election

Vatican confirms the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November 3 midterm elections

A spectator waves a US flag as Pope Leo XIV leaves his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on October 28, 2026 [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]

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 mail-in ballot in the city ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, citing his longstanding belief in civic participation.

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Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen”, as he has done “whenever he was eligible to do so”, the Vatican’s press office said.

“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” it added.

The Vatican did not say which candidates Leo voted for.

In a note commenting on Leo’s vote, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Catholics to put “our faith before our politics” and “uphold human dignity and the common good”.

“In voting, our Holy Father sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility,” said the conference’s director of public affairs, Chieko Noguchi.

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.

US federal law allows citizens living abroad, even those working for foreign governments, to vote via absentee ballot.

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 “actively review” the citizenship status of Americans who “serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister”.

In this year’s midterm elections, voters in the solidly ⁠Democratic 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.

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 at the Vatican after being released from the hospital on October 17.

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.

Illinois voters must declare a party preference to receive a primary ballot.

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.

Since Leo’s ascent to the papacy in May 2025, US President Donald Trump has clashed with the pontiff several times.

Trump criticised the pope for repeatedly condemning the US-Israel war on Iran and for challenging his administration’s crackdown on immigrants.

Earlier this year, Trump called Leo “weak” and captive to the “radical left”, kicking off a remarkable back-and-forth argument.

Leo responded by telling reporters: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the church works for.”

梵蒂冈证实，教皇已在其家乡芝加哥提交了邮寄选票，参加11月3日的中期选举。

2026年10月28日，教皇利奥十四世在梵蒂冈圣彼得广场结束每周例行公开接见活动后，一名旁观者挥舞着美国国旗离开。[格雷戈里奥·博尔吉亚/美联社照片]

教宗利奥十四世成为首位在美国大选中投票的教宗，他在出生地芝加哥投下了邮寄选票。

梵蒂冈周五证实，教皇在11月3日中期选举前在该市提交了邮寄选票，理由是他长期以来对公民参与的信念。

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梵蒂冈新闻办公室表示，利奥（原名罗伯特·普雷沃斯特）“行使了他作为美国公民的投票权”，就像他“只要有资格投票就会这样做”一样。

声明还补充道：“教宗表达了他对公民参与民主进程的权利和义务的信念。”

梵蒂冈方面没有透露利奥三世投票给了哪些候选人。

美国天主教主教会议在一份评论利奥投票的声明中敦促天主教徒“将信仰置于政治之上”，并“维护人类尊严和公共利益”。

“教宗在投票方面树立了榜样，鼓励每个公民履行公民责任，”大会公共事务主任野口千惠子说。

利奥不仅是美国公民，也是秘鲁公民（他曾在那里担任神父和主教超过 20 年），同时他还是梵蒂冈公民（他是梵蒂冈的国家元首）。

美国联邦法律允许居住在国外的公民，甚至包括为外国政府工作的公民，通过缺席投票的方式进行投票。

为外国政府工作的美国人不会自动面临失去美国国籍的风险，但美国国务院在其网站上表示，可能会“积极审查”担任外国国家元首、外国政府首脑或外交部长的美国人的公民身份。

在今年的中期选举中，芝加哥所在的伊利诺伊州（民主党铁票仓）的选民将选出即将退休的参议员迪克·德宾的继任者，并决定是否再次选举州长JB·普里茨克。

利奥于10月3日申请了邮寄选票，就在10天后，他接受了右肺癌性肿瘤切除手术。10月17日出院后，他已逐渐恢复在梵蒂冈的各项活动。

根据伊利诺伊州选举委员会的记录，自 2000 年以来，Leo 以 Prevost 的身份参加了五次初选投票，其中两次申请了民主党选票，三次申请了共和党选票，但记录并未显示他支持哪些候选人。

伊利诺伊州选民必须表明党派倾向才能获得初选选票。

普雷沃斯特虽然在民主党占绝对优势的库克县注册，但他在 2008 年和 2010 年申请了民主党初选选票。搬到较为保守的威尔县后，他又在 2012 年、2014 年和 2016 年申请了共和党初选选票。

自利奥于 2025 年 5 月就任教皇以来，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普已与教皇发生过多次冲突。

特朗普批评教皇多次谴责美国和以色列对伊朗发动的战争，并质疑其政府对移民的打压。

今年早些时候，特朗普称利奥“软弱”，并被“激进左派”所控制，由此引发了一场引人注目的争论。

利奥回应记者说：“我不怕特朗普政府，也不怕大声宣扬福音的信息，这正是教会努力的目标。”