Pope Leo XIV Requests Illinois Mail Ballot to Vote in US Midterm Elections
Photo: NBC NewsPope Leo XIV, a registered Illinois voter, requested a mail ballot on Oct. 3 to vote in the U.S. midterm elections from his residence in Vatican City, Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff of the Will County Clerk's Office, confirmed. Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, became the first American pope in May 2025 and would be the first pope to vote in a U.S. election. The clerk's office said it had not yet received a completed ballot, and it is unclear whether he has filled it out or mailed it. If he does, it would go to Joliet. Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections, said Illinois law no longer has absentee ballots and any registered voter can vote by mail. Records show Prevost voted in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Republican primaries, the 2008 and 2010 Democratic primaries, and the 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections. The pope had lung cancer surgery this month, and the midterms are next week.
Breitbart, on the right, frames the story around the possibility that he is the first American pope to vote by mail. It attributes the confirmation to the Chicago Sun-Times, lays out his primary and general election history by year, and quotes Dietrich on Illinois mail-voting rules. Its excerpt does not mention Trump, Iran or the pope's health. NBC News, on the left, leads with the Oct. 3 request and Fladhammer's confirmation, then adds the surgery and his clashes with the administration. These include his criticism of the Iran war and the treatment of immigrants, Trump's April attacks on him, his reply that he has no fear of the administration, and Vice President JD Vance's warning about theology. CNN's headline says he plans to vote, and its segment with Christopher Hale calls the vote history-making. Both sides agree on the date, the source and the Illinois registration. Alternative outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing.
How the sides differ Right sources stress his Illinois voting history and mail-voting rules; left sources stress the first-pope-voting milestone and his clashes with Trump administration figures.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
CNN and NBC News lead with the pope's plan to vote, with NBC citing the Will County clerk's office and detailing his disputes with Trump and Vance; CNN hosts journalist Christopher Hale on the history-making vote.
Not covering this story. None of the alternative or independent outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
Breitbart frames it as a possible first for a mail-voting American pope, citing the Will County clerk via the Chicago Sun-Times, his past primary and general election votes, and an Illinois elections spokesman on mail voting.