ROME — Pope Leo XIV submitted a mail-in vote for the U.S. midterm elections, as confirmed by the Vatican on Friday. This act marks a historic first, with the Chicago-born pontiff becoming the inaugural leader of the Catholic Church to vote in an American election.
The announcement from the Vatican coincides with the ongoing debate in the United States regarding the reliability and security of mail-in voting. President Donald Trump has been vocal about his skepticism towards this voting method, questioning its integrity in recent months.
Images captured on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square depict Pope Leo XIV waving to a gathered crowd. The decision to cast a mail-in ballot signifies a unique intersection of religious leadership and civic duty, underscoring the pope’s ties to his birthplace in the United States.