Pope Leo XIV, a US Citizen, Legally Voted in Midterm Elections
The pontiff, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, cast an absentee ballot from the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV, who was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, legally cast a vote in the recent midterm elections as an American citizen living abroad.
According to Illinois voter records reviewed by The Post, Leo is registered to vote at his brother's address in suburban New Lenox. Richard Hasen, a voting rights expert at UCLA School of Law, explained that as an American citizen living overseas, Pope Leo XIV did not forfeit his voting rights.
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 allows U.S. citizens residing outside the country to register and vote by absentee ballot. These ballots must be for offices in the last place the individual resided before leaving the United States.
Vatican City, an independent state since 1929, operates as an absolute monarchy where citizenship is granted by application, with only the pope holding it for life. Leo also holds American and Peruvian citizenship.
Records indicate that Prevost requested a mail-in ballot from the Will County clerk's office on Oct. 3, just ten days before undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung. The Vatican press office confirmed that the pontiff believes in the right and duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.
"Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," the statement read. "In keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago."
The statement also noted that he exercised his right to vote in Peru when eligible.
Since 2000, Pope Leo XIV, as Robert Prevost, has participated in five primary elections, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times, according to Illinois State Board of Elections records. He cast ballots in every general election from 2000 until 2020 and 2022.
His voting district is represented in the House by Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.). The state also features a Senate race between Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and GOP lawyer Don Tracy, and a gubernatorial contest where Gov. JB Pritzker is seeking a third term against Republican Darren Bailey.