Leo XIV, the primary American pope, voted in previous Republican primaries however shouldn’t be formally registered with any celebration.
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Printed On 11 Might 2025
Hours after Robert Prevost turned the primary United States-born pontiff on Might 8, social media discussions within the US speculated whether or not Pope Leo XIV, as he’s recognized after the election, was a “registered Republican”.
“SCOOP: Our Turning Level Motion group pulled the voting historical past for Pope Leo XIV,” conservative influencer Charlie Kirk wrote on social media platform X on Might 8. “He’s a registered Republican who has voted in Republican primaries when not residing overseas. Our information reveals he’s a robust Republican, and he’s pro-life.”
Many different X posts referred to as Prevost a “registered Republican”.
Prevost, 69, is a registered voter in Will County, Illinois, and has solid ballots there over the previous 13 years. In Illinois, voters don’t register by celebration affiliation. However they declare a celebration when voting in a main, in keeping with an April video by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
“Nevertheless, you aren’t tied down or formally registered to this celebration and are free to vote for one more celebration at a subsequent election,” the video says.
The Illinois voter registration utility doesn’t ask folks to offer a celebration affiliation.
The Will County clerk’s workplace despatched PolitiFact Prevost’s voter data, which lists his celebration affiliation as “undeclared”. It reveals that he voted within the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Republican primaries. He voted absentee within the 2024 normal election, with an undeclared celebration affiliation.
The viral screenshots Kirk and others shared on X are from L2, a paywalled database that aggregates client and voter information. L2’s profile of Prevost lists “Republican” in its “celebration” area.
🚨 🚨 🚨 New Pope is a registered REPUBLICAN! pic.twitter.com/bj8MH8H2Qs
— Jared Small 💁🏼♀️ (@jaredsmall) Might 8, 2025
It’s unclear how L2 determines a celebration affiliation for individuals who stay in states akin to Illinois, the place this data shouldn’t be included in voter registration. L2 didn’t reply to PolitiFact’s request for remark.
Born in 1955, Prevost grew up in Dolton, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He was ordained as a priest in 1982, then moved to Peru, the place he lived from 1988 by 1998. In 1999, he returned to Chicago to function the prior provincial of the Augustinian province of “Mom of Good Counsel”, which covers the Midwest and Canada.
Prevost’s voter file lists his handle to a home owned by his brother, John Prevost. We have been unable to find out Robert Prevost’s handle or the place he was registered to vote earlier than 2012. In 2014, he returned to Peru and served because the bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He then moved to Rome, the place he has lived since.
US residents who stay abroad and meet sure standards can vote absentee whereas overseas.
We contacted the clerk’s workplace in Prepare dinner County, Illinois, the place Chicago is positioned, to ask whether or not Prevost has a voter file within the county. The clerk’s workplace directed us to submit a Freedom of Data Act request for that data; we did so, however didn’t obtain an instantaneous response.
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, chair of spiritual research and political science professor at Northwestern College within the Chicago suburbs, mentioned Prevost’s voting historical past doesn’t inform the general public “a lot about his views or positions aside from that in that individual main he was inclined towards a number of of the Republican candidates”.
Our ruling
X posts mentioned Prevost is a “registered Republican”.
Prevost is registered to vote in Illinois, the place voters don’t register with a celebration affiliation. Nevertheless, they declare a celebration affiliation when voting in a main. County data present Prevost voted in three Republican primaries from 2012 by 2016, the newest data we obtained.
Nonetheless, the Illinois State Board of Elections says when voters take part in primaries, they don’t seem to be formally registered to a celebration.
Nobody is registered by celebration affiliation in Illinois, and proof is scant about Prevost’s voting historical past over his lifetime.
The assertion accommodates a component of fact however ignores essential info. We fee it Principally False.
PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact-check.
