The newly chosen Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago as Robert Prevost, is registered to vote in the United States and has previously voted in some Republican primaries, but is not registered as a member of a political party, and his history of voters does not indicate who he voted or why.
According to the Board Elections of the State of Illinois, there is no record of parties in the state. Voters can choose only the ballot of a match during each primary, but that does not restrict what vote of the party you can choose in the subsequent primaries.
The newly chosen Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass with the Cardinals College within the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican the day after his choice as 267 Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, May 9, 2025.
Simone Resoluti/Vatican Media through AP
ABC News obtained the story of Leo’s voters from the office of the Secretary of Will, which is the current local electoral authority for him. (The office provided in response to a consultation that refers to claims on Leo that circulates online after it was announced as the new Pope, and the records include a date of birth that coincides with that of Leo).
Leo voted in the general elections of 2024, the 2018 general elections, the 2016 Republican primaries, the 2014 general elections and the Republican primaries and the 2012 general elections and the Republican primaries, according to the history of the voters of the Office of the Secretary of Will.
The voting history does not say or indicate anything about how Leo voted in each election, why he voted in some elections and not in others or if he joined any specific party, since he would not have registered with any party in Illinois when registered to vote. ABC News has not obtained records that show in which elections he voted before 2012.
Leo could still vote in future elections.
In this archive photo of November 5, 2024, citizens launched their vote for the presidential elections of the United States 2024 in the Catholic Church Borgia in Chicago.
Anadolu through Getty images, file
A voter who lives abroad can continue voting by mail provided that the voter maintains his voting address in Illinois, according to a spokesman for the Board Elections Elections of the State of Illinois. If that voter renounces his Illinois speech, the right of that voter to vote for federal offices would still be protected under the law of voting uniformed citizens and abroad.
Pope’s personal policy is unknown.
Before being elected Pontiff, Leo had a presence on Twitter, and later X, where he sometimes shared messages that seemed critical of some of President Donald Trump’s policies.
Trump and Vance have congratulated Leo. Several cardinals have indicated, separately, that they believe that Leo can build a connection with Trump.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan from New York told journalists on Friday: “Will you want to build bridges for Donald Trump? I guess I would like to build bridges with the leader of each nation.”
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon in Myanmar, told James Longman of ABC News that he believes that Leo can “build a bridge” and have a dialogue with Trump.
Hannah Demissie of ABC News, Chris Boccia, Terry Moran, Ariane Nalty and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
