Pope Leo XIV requested a ballot to vote by mail in 2026 elections

Pope Leo XIV may become the first-ever pope to vote in a secular election, let alone a U.S. one, as he ordered a mail-in ballot for the 2026 midterm elections.

Kim Fladhammer, Will County clerk’s office chief of staff, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the leader of the Roman Catholic Church requested a mail-in ballot on Oct. 3. Despite being the leader of the world’s largest Christian denomination, he remains a registered voter in Illinois, under his old New Lenox address. Fladhammer didn’t say whether the ballot had been submitted, only that it had been requested.