HOLY SMOKE, IT’S A MAIL-IN BALLOT! Pope Leo XIV has submitted his mail-in ballot in Illinois for the midterm elections, becoming the first pope ever to vote in a US election, the BBC reported.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the Holy See Press Office said. The Chicago-born pontiff, chosen in May 2025, is the first US citizen to hold the job, and the Vatican says he has voted as an American “whenever he was eligible to do so,” including during his years in Peru.
According to NBC News, he requested his ballot from the Will County Clerk’s Office on 3 October. Less than two weeks later, the Vatican announced he’d had surgery to remove a lower lobe of his right lung after a lung cancer diagnosis. The 71-year-old is still set to travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in early November.
Don’t expect a fan letter from the White House. After the Pope called for peace following US-Israeli strikes on Iran in April, President Trump said: “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.” The Pope’s reply: “If someone wants to criticise me for preaching the Gospel… I hope simply to be listened to because of the value of God’s words.”
Elections are on 3 November. Polls suggest Democrats are favoured to take the House. Who the Pope voted for? The Vatican isn’t saying.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC News
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