Pope Leo XIV Submits Mail‑In Ballot in Illinois for U.S. Midterms

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S. citizen to hold the Vatican’s highest office, mailed his ballot to the Will County Clerk’s Office in Illinois on 3 October, becoming the first pope to vote in a U.S. election. The Holy See Press Office said the pope "expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes." The midterm elections, held nationwide on 3 November, will decide which party controls Congress and influence the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency. The pope, 71, had recently undergone surgery to remove a lower lobe of his right lung after a lung‑cancer diagnosis but remains scheduled to travel to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru in early November.