Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, has requested a mail-in ballot to participate in Illinois' midterm elections from the Vatican.

The Will County clerk’s office confirmed that Robert Francis Prevost, registered at a New Lenox address, appears on the list of voters who requested mail ballots for the upcoming election. The request was made on October 3.

Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955, became Pope Leo XIV following his papal election in May of 2025. Public records show he voted in multiple Illinois elections in the years prior to his ascension to Head of the Catholic Church, including voting in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016. He also participated in Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010. He cast ballots in the general elections of 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024. He notably did not vote in either parties' March primaries this year.

Illinois law allows any registered voter to cast a ballot by mail without an excuse. The ballot was sent from Joliet to Vatican City.

His participation marks a historic first. If he returns his ballot, Pope Leo XIV will become the only sitting pontiff to vote in a secular election as none of his predecessors cast a ballot in a national or local contest while holding the office. This precedent underscores the unique circumstances of an American citizen leading the Catholic Church for the first time, which played a contributing factor in widespread doubts over the possibility of an American being chose to follow Pope Francis.

The pope’s vote will be counted in the U.S. Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, the gubernatorial contest involving incumbent Governor JB Pritzker, and various Will County judicial and local races.

American citizens living abroad remain eligible to vote in U.S. elections as long as they maintain their registration address in the state. Voting records for overseas citizens fall under federal protections. This marks yet another instance of the pontiff exercising his franchise despite his global role.