Pope Leo Makes History as the First Pontiff To Vote in a Secular Election

Pope Leo XIV has made history as the first American pontiff — and in this election cycle, he is making history again as the first pope in 2,000 years to vote in a secular election.In a statement on Friday, the Holy See press office said that in light of Pope Leo’s “belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes” he “submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.”“The Holy Father has also confirmed that, during his years of residence in Peru, he exercised his right to vote whenever he was eligible to do so,” the press office said. Pope Leo and other Catholic leaders have encouraged parishioners to vote, though the church has avoided endorsing political parties. Pope Francis said in 2024 that he believed “one must vote.”However, there has been no recorded instance of a pope voting in secular elections before 2026. Earlier this year, a canon law scholar at Catholic University, Antonio Chizzoniti, told an Italian Catholic news outlet, ACI Stampa, that popes often face a “complex” legal situation when it comes to voting.Mr. Chizzoniti noted that popes are granted citizenship of Vatican City, but under canon law are allowed to retain citizenship in other nations — depending on their laws. However, he said that the pope is considered a head of state, which could complicate his ability to vote in secular elections in other countries. A Chicago-based radio station, WJOL, reported last week that a mail-in ballot had been requested for Pope Leo, and that it was sent to his address at New Lenox. A Catholic commentator, Christopher Hale, reported that the pope’s brother, John Prevost, owns the home. Mr. Hale noted that Mr. Prevost was at Rome this week and suggested it is possible that he personally delivered the ballot for Pope Leo to fill out. However, the Vatican has not shared how the pope received his ballot.Under Illinois law, voters are required to declare a party preference to cast a ballot in primary elections. They are not required to do so in the general election. Records from the Illinois State Board of Elections show that since 2000, Pope Leo has voted in five primary elections. The records do not show which candidates he voted for, but they do show that two times he requested Democratic ballots and three times he requested Republican ballots. The records show that he has voted in every general election since 2000 with the exception of the 2020 and 2022 elections. Pope Leo’s endorsement of Catholics voting in secular elections comes days ahead of the midterm elections. While he did not endorse any candidate or party, the Vatican and other Catholic leaders have been critical of the Trump administration’s immigration and foreign policies. Earlier this month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops likened the administration’s plans to exclude illegal immigrants from the census to the Three-Fifths Compromise. The bishops said that to exclude “noncitizens without [legal permanent resident] status, including but not limited to members of the undocumented population, is effectively to deny they are ‘persons.’”While church leaders have been critical of the administration, a Pew survey released earlier this month ahead of next week’s midterm election found that 50 percent of White Catholics said they would support the Republican House candidate in their district, while 32 percent said they would support the Democratic candidate. The pattern was reversed among Hispanic Catholics, with 59 percent saying they would support the Democrat and just 19 percent saying they would support the Republican.

Pope Leo Makes History as the First Pontiff To Vote in a Secular Election

Pope Leo Makes History as the First Pontiff To Vote in a Secular Election

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