Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to cast ballot in US election

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WASHINGTON - Pope Leo XIV cast a ballot by mail in the US midterm elections, the Vatican press office said on Friday, a historic first for the American-born pontiff.

"In keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago," the Vatican said. "The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes."

The Vatican did not say which candidates Leo had voted for.

Leo, 71, was born in Chicago and is the first American-born pope. The pope voted by mail under his birth name, Robert Francis Prevost, according to the Will County Clerk's website.

President Donald Trump's sagging popularity is hurting his fellow Republicans' chances of holding onto their majorities in both chambers of Congress in the November 3 election, with the public unhappy about the high cost of living and the Iran war.

Trump repeatedly criticized Leo early in the new pope's tenure, calling him "weak" and "terrible" on crime.

The pope said in March that God rejects the prayers of those who start wars and have "hands full of blood." In April, he termed Trump's threat to destroy the Iranian civilization as unacceptable and previously declined to join the US president's so-called "Board of Peace" initiative for Gaza.

Leo has also urged a "deep reflection" on the way migrants are treated in the US.

Voters in the solidly Democratic state of Illinois will select a successor for retiring US Senator Dick Durbin and choose whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker.

Leo was elected to lead the 1.4-billion-member Church by the world's cardinals in May 2025.

The pope had the lower lobe of his right lung removed in surgery on October 13 and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. Doctors say he will not need further therapy.