Pope Leo XIV becomes first pope to vote in U.S. election

• Joliet radio station WJOL first reported Oct. 23 that Leo had requested a mail-in ballot.

What they're saying: The pope believes "in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Holy See Press Office said in a statement.

• The Vatican said Leo "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so" and that "in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago."
• Pope Leo also voted whenever eligible during his years living in Peru, the Vatican's statement said.

Zoom in: The pope's ballot includes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's reelection bid, the race to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin and a House contest between Democratic Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Republican Christian Maxwell.

• Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, won his district handily in 2024.
• The pontiff's ballot will have to travel from Vatican city to Joliet, Illinois.

Worth noting: Leo has voted in both Democratic and Republican primaries in the last two decades.

• The clerk's office in Will County, Illinois, where Leo is registered to vote, did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Zoom out: The pope, who has been recovering from lung cancer surgery, met with Chicago-area advocates Wednesday who are supporting immigrants at an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois.

• He's also clashed with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, over the war in Iran and the treatment of immigrants in America.

Go deeper: Pope Leo XIV discharged from hospital after lung cancer surgery

Axios Chicago's Carrie Shepherd contributed.