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NC prosecutor drops 'deadly weapon' charge against teen accused of taking abortion pills On tape: Obama says Trump's team never denied driving up prices. The Guardian's headline: they focused on a joke. Pope Leo XIV requests Illinois mail ballot for Tuesday's midterms Final House map: 50 toss-up seats, Democrats need three flips on Tuesday Five days out, Democrats lead the House race, but the Senate is tight and polls can miss Talarico calls Paxton 'most corrupt politician in Texas' at Dallas rally five days out On tape: Abdul El-Sayed does the billionaire math: $100 million a year "for doing Jack nothing." Inside Elections moves nine Senate races toward Democrats as Silver cites strong polls Bresnahan breaks with Trump on Iran war in debate with Democrat Cognetti Ex-Trump aide Marc Short says Republicans are 'essentially in triage' before Tuesday NC prosecutor drops 'deadly weapon' charge against teen accused of taking abortion pills On tape: Obama says Trump's team never denied driving up prices. The Guardian's headline: they focused on a joke. Pope Leo XIV requests Illinois mail ballot for Tuesday's midterms Final House map: 50 toss-up seats, Democrats need three flips on Tuesday Five days out, Democrats lead the House race, but the Senate is tight and polls can miss Talarico calls Paxton 'most corrupt politician in Texas' at Dallas rally five days out On tape: Abdul El-Sayed does the billionaire math: $100 million a year "for doing Jack nothing." Inside Elections moves nine Senate races toward Democrats as Silver cites strong polls Bresnahan breaks with Trump on Iran war in debate with Democrat Cognetti Ex-Trump aide Marc Short says Republicans are 'essentially in triage' before Tuesday

Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261030-956

Pope Leo XIV requests Illinois mail ballot for Tuesday's midterms

The first American pope, a registered voter in Will County, Illinois, asked for an absentee ballot on Oct. 3. If he returns it, he would be the first pope to vote in a U.S. election.

By the Campaign Desk · · 3 min read

Every quote in this story (1) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV. Photo: Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0

Pope Leo XIV, a registered voter in Illinois, requested an absentee ballot to vote in Tuesday's midterm election, the Will County Clerk's Office confirmed. Leo, whose birth name is Robert Francis Prevost, made the request on Oct. 3 from his residence in Vatican City 12.

The clerk's office said it has not yet received a completed ballot from the pope, who had lung cancer surgery this month. It is unclear whether he has filled out or mailed his ballot. If he does, it would be sent to Joliet, Illinois 1.

Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff for the Will County Clerk's Office, confirmed the request, telling the Chicago Sun-Times that Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election 2.

Leo remains a registered voter at a New Lenox, Illinois, address even though he now leads the world's 1.4 billion Catholics from Vatican City, Newsweek reported 2. Any registered Illinois voter can vote by mail, including citizens living abroad 2.

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By becoming the first American pope in May 2025, Leo would be the first pope to vote in a U.S. election 1. Public records show he has voted in previous elections, including the 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections, and in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016 1. Illinois voters do not register by party 1.

A ballot with Illinois races

Leo's ballot includes a series of solidly blue races. His congressman is Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the brother of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., who is seeking re-election 1. Senate Democratic nominee Juliana Stratton, the state's lieutenant governor, is seeking to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin 1. Gov. JB Pritzker is running for re-election, aspiring to become the first Democrat in the state elected to a third term as governor 1.

The request comes as more than 20 million Americans and 1.16 million Illinois residents have already voted early, according to Newsweek 2. Leo requested the ballot just before he underwent surgery earlier this month to remove a portion of his lung, which was found to have cancer 2.

Leo's physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said the pope will not need further cancer treatment after the surgery. They said final tests confirmed the tumor was a localized lung adenocarcinoma and that the cancer had not spread 2.

Since he became pope, Leo has been an outspoken critic of certain Trump policies, including the U.S. war against Iran and the administration's treatment of immigrants 1. Leo and President Donald Trump got into a back-and-forth in April after Leo called for peace in the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 1. Trump responded on social media by calling the pope "WEAK on crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy" while taking credit for his papacy 1.

Leo responded to the remarks, telling NBC News that he had "no fear of the Trump administration" and vowing to keep advocating for peace 1. Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, has also criticized Leo, saying he should "be careful" when he talks about theology 1.

That matters because the pope's ballot request puts a global religious figure inside a routine American election process. It is not known whether Leo has returned the ballot 12.

The Record

  1. Leo becomes the first American pope, making him the first pope who could vote in a U.S. election 1.
  2. The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran begin; Leo later calls for peace 1.
  3. Leo requests a vote-by-mail ballot from the Will County Clerk's Office 12.
  4. The clerk's office confirms the request; no completed ballot has been received 1.

Sources

  1. NBC News, “Pope Leo requested an absentee ballot in Illinois to vote in the midterms” (2026-10-30). nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/pope-leo-requested-absent
  2. Newsweek, “Pope Leo May Be Among the Nearly 20 Million Americans Voting Early” (2026-10-30). newsweek.com/pope-leo-may-be-among-the-nearly-20-million-ame

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