Pope Leo XIV has voted quite regularly in the general elections in the last two decades, and has chosen to participate in Republican and Democratic primary elections over the years, state and local records in Illinois Show.
The new Pontiff, a native of Chicago, has voted in at least 10 general elections since 2000, according to the records, more recently in November when he cast a vote in absence in the presidential elections. In the primary elections in Illinois, voters can choose any couple at the polls, and Pope Leo has varied in their selection, choosing the Democratic ballots years ago and the republicans more recently.
Will’s County, in the Chicago suburbs, published records on Thursday that show that the Pope had voted in several elections there since 2012, including three Republican primaries between 2012 and 2016.
The records seen Friday at the Illinois State Board Office in Springfield showed that Pope Leo, who was born Robert Francis Prevost, voted regularly in Cook County between 2000 and 2010. Duration that time, voted and 2010.
In Illinois, where Democrats dominate in state elections, voters are not registered as members of a political party. American citizens who live outside the country are still eligible to vote.
Pope Leo was born in Chicago and grew up in the nearby Dolton, Illinois, in a family that was deeply involved in his local parish. Although his career has been included long periods in Peru and Rome, he has returned to Illinois several times as an adult, even for the postgraduate school and for publications with the augginians of the west.
Susan C. Beachy and Jonah Smith Contributed reports.
