Pope Leo voted in the 2026 American election cycle in suburban New Lenox, Illinois:

Records show that the pope is registered under his baptismal name, Robert Francis Prevost, to vote in the Chicago suburb of New Lenox, where his brother John lives. The Chicago-born pontiff has cast ballots in both Republican and Democratic primaries in recent years and cast a vote in the 2024 presidential election….

The pope’s ballot is expected to include votes for the senate and governor race in Illinois, along with house of representative, state and county elections.

While there is interest in comparing the Pope’s political views versus that of the current US administration, I would be interested to know how he voted regarding local candidates and issues. As noted above, this includes voting for state and local elections. Local choices could include for county boards, forest preserves, local judges, and municipal governments. It might include local referendum issues about property tax increases for school district needs or other specific local questions. Local residents might struggle to keep up with all the local issues and all the names on signs that pop up at each election cycle, let alone someone who is living elsewhere and voting from a distance.

The shorthand the media often uses for state and national issues – it is Democrats vs. Republicans, one party wins and the other loses – do not always hold up in suburban elections. Sometimes they do; elections for county boards and school boards in the Chicago suburbs can now echo national party platforms. But sometimes they do not. There are local election slates. Or particular histories and character in communities that influence local elections. A suburban community may lean more Democratic or Republican in larger political races but the local political activity can be unique.

New Lenox, Illinois is a unique suburban community southwest of Chicago. It has grown rapidly in recent years, increasing from under 3,000 residents in 1970 to over 27,000 in 2020. The suburb is largely white with the 2020 Census finding over 87% were white alone. A 2015 promotional campaign for the community emphasized that it is “home to proud Americans.” How do leaders and residents understand their community’s character, considering past, present, and future, and how does this affect their vote?

After the election concludes, there will be data regarding races – national, state, and local – that New Lenox residents voted in. It sounds like the Pope’s votes will be part of this.