# Opinion: Jonathan Turley Asks Whether a Foreign Head of State Should Vote in U.S. Elections, After Pope Leo's Mail Ballot

The legal scholar calls the pope's vote lawful but unprecedented, and says the question is worth debating. The Holy See says Leo has voted whenever he was eligible.

- Section: [Opinion](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/opinion/)
- Published: 2026-11-01
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/opinion-jonathan-turley-pope-leo-xiv-mail-ballot-will-county-illinois-foreign-head-of-state-voting-fox-news/

This is a summary of an opinion column in Fox News. The views are the author's, not RightNewsRightNow's.

The argument. Jonathan Turley writes that Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, became the first pope to vote in a U.S. election, and that this raises questions he finds novel. He says the answer to whether Leo can vote in Illinois races "appears to be yes," but that it is "odd" for the head of a foreign state to vote here.

The facts he cites. The Will County, Illinois, clerk's office confirmed to Fox News Digital that "Robert Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a Vote by Mail ballot." The Holy See Press Office said Leo "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen whenever he was eligible to do so" and has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago. Turley notes the State Department has held that dual citizens do not have to choose between countries.

The concern. He points to a federal law that lets citizens abroad vote and asks whether that right should be suspended when a person leads another nation. He offers a comparison to Vladimir Putin voting, and says dual citizenship for a foreign head of government is "an uncomfortable question." He adds that Leo is greatly loved and that he and others were thrilled by the first American pope. He calls this an unlikely one-off but warns it could happen again with another country and a dual citizen. He says he doubts politicians will want the debate.

The close. Turley says Leo stated before the Villanova-Notre Dame game that the pope will not take sides in U.S. elections, but that "Prevost will."

Our note: this is one commentator's framing. The column does not cite a law that bars the pope's vote, and Turley himself says the vote appears lawful. The column does not say how Leo voted, and nothing in the piece shows he did anything improper.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News (opinion)](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-pope-leo-xiv-casts-ballot-us-election-raising-questions-foreign-leaders-voting)