Pope Leo XIV voted in Democratic and Republican primaries, according to records

Pope Leo XIV has voted quite regularly in general elections over the past two decades and has chosen to participate in both Republican and democratic primary elections over the years, showing the state and local data in Illinois.

The new Pontiff, a resident of Chicago, has voted in at least 10 general elections since 2000, according to the records, the most recently in November when he released an absent vote in the presidential election. In the primary elections in Illinois, voters can choose the mood of each party in the polls, and Pope Leo has ranging in his selection, who chooses democratic ballot papers years ago and more recently.

Will County, in the suburbs of Chicago, announced Records on Thursday that the Pope had voted in various elections since 2012, including three Republican primaries between 2012 and 2016.

Records that were viewed on Friday at the Illinois State Board of Elections Office in Springfield, showed that Pope Leo, who was born Robert Francis Prevost, regularly voted in Cook County between 2000 and 2010. At that time he voted in two preliminary elections and selected democratic balloters in 2008 and 2010.

In Illinois, where Democrats dominate in elections throughout the state, voters do not register as members of a political party. American citizens who live outside the country remain eligible to vote.

Pope Leo was born in Chicago and grew up in nearby Dolton, Illinois, in a family that was deep involved in the local parish. Although his career has recorded long stints in Peru and Rome, he has returned several times to Illinois as an adult, including for the graduate school and for messages with the Midwest Augustinians.

Susan C. Beachy And Jonah Smith contributed reporting.