Is Pope Leo eligible to vote in Illinois -- no, but he will

When I read this headline in my email, I chuckled,

“Pope Leo requested an absentee ballot in Illinois to vote in the midterms”

I was thinking, “Obviously, Onion.”

So, when I read that he was being sent a ballot, I decided to do some research.

I went to the Illinois website to see what the requirements are to vote in Illinois.

Here is the nub,

All residents of Illinois who are U.S. citizens and over the age of 18 are eligible to vote in the 2026 midterm elections.

Sara Tenenbaum, CBS Chicago, October 29, 2026

Leo’s situation

First, is Pope Leo a U.S. citizen? The answer to that is that he has dual citizenship: He is a citizen of Peru and of the United States. That is legitimate.

The pope is 71 years old, so that is not a problem.

The nub is this: Is he a resident of Illinois?

The obvious answer to that is “No.”

Here is what the Associated Press said about Pope Leo’s voting situation,

• He was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Illinois.

• He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Peru.

• He has not renounced his U.S. citizenship, and under U.S. law, serving as a foreign head of state does not automatically strip an individual of their American citizenship.

• Pope Leo XIV is not currently a resident of Illinois. 

In fact, here is his legal residence,

• He lives at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City as the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the state.

  
  

Being sovereign of the state is not the problem. His official residency in Vatican City is the issue.

However, Illinois has overlooked this in the past, and is apparently doing so today,

Records show Prevost voted in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Republican primaries, as well as in the 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections. He also voted in Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010. He did not vote in Illinois’ March primary.

Chicago Sun-Times, October 2026

I love Pope Leo, but he is not eligible to vote in the Illinois general election; according to the Sun-Times, he has had a ballot mailed to him.