Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to vote in US general election
Vatican confirms the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November 3 midterm elections
Pope Leo XIV has become the first pontiff to vote in a United States general election after casting a mail-in ballot in Chicago, where he was born.
The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in the city ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, citing his longstanding belief in civic participation.
Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen”, as he has done “whenever he was eligible to do so”, the Vatican’s press office said.
Americans working for foreign governments are not automatically at risk of losing their US citizenship, but the US State Department says on its website that it may “actively review” the citizenship status of Americans who “serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister”.