Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church, is expected to vote in next week’s United States midterm elections after requesting a mail-in ballot be sent to his residence in the Vatican.
According to reports, the Illinois Will County clerk’s office confirmed that the pope’s birth name, Robert Francis Prevost, is among those who requested mail-in ballots and that the request was made in October.
“Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election,” Kim Fladhammer, Will County clerk’s office chief of staff, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
If he votes, he would become the first sitting pope to cast a ballot in a U.S. election.
The pope has been vocal in his opposition to some of President Donald Trump’s administration’s policies, including the controversial immigration crackdown by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In January, Pope Leo also implied his rejection of the decision by Mr Trump to deploy the United States military to Venezuela against President Nicolas Maduro.
“It is with deep concern that I am following the developments in Venezuela. The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration. This must lead to the overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace.
“I pray for all this, and I invite you to pray too, entrusting our prayer to the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto, and to Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles,” the pope said after the operation.
Earlier this month, he kicked against the announcement by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that it would livestream the execution of former U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
“The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,” the pope said.
“The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment: effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption. #NoDeathPenalty.”
