# Should Pope Leo XIV have voted in this week's elections? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328 "2026-11-01T23:59:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328/61 "2026-11-03T13:48:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I believe that most previous popes were Italian. Correct, but there has been quite a bit of variety over the years. Still, voting in their country of origin probably wasn’t an issue for the vast majority of Popes. > **[List of popes by country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes_by_country)** > > This page is a list of popes by country of origin and nationality. There have been 265\[a\] popes, from the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. Since the office of pope has existed for almost two millennia, many of the countries of origin of popes no longer exist, and so they are grouped under three periods: the Roman Empire period, the Middle Ages to modernity, and since the creation of Vatican City with the 1929 Lateran Treaty. Countries are listed in chronologi... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328/62 "2026-11-03T13:50:49Z")
Right. I think for most of the popes, there wasn’t really any such thing as popular voting in democratic elections. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328/63 "2026-11-03T14:14:05Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think for most of the popes, there wasn’t really any such thing as popular voting in democratic elections. Until 1871 the Papal States were a separate country and an absolute monarchy. 1871-1929 the official position of the Holy See was they were under occupation and would not ratify that. By the time the Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929 the Fascists were in charge. So first chance if any would have been post-WW-II but now the Vatican was not a municipality in Italy so there would be no representation to vote for. Hard to imagine that if upon restoration of free elections to Poland, Pope John Paul II had voted, the papers would not have said something. Polish absentee voting is in person at the consulate, not by mail. Germany and Argentina do have mail ballot but we did not hear about it from Benedict XVI or Francis. (But then again the law in these countries may exclude the “head if a foreign state” case, I did not dig that deep.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328/64 "2026-11-03T14:51:59Z")
In other papal news, [here is a gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/02/world/europe/pope-plane-shepherd-one-flights.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NlE.NvaL.fBzctT5PcUVK&smid=url-share) to a New York Times article about how popes travel by air. The Vatican doesn’t have a plane for the exclusive use of the popes (like Air Force One) so instead they charter commercial airliners. The pope and his entourage fly up front in business class (with the pope typically in the first row on the left side). The press take up the remaining seats. And, BTW, during the John Paul II and Benedict XVI eras, the pope and his entourage ate premium class meals while the press got the economy class equivalent, but then Pope Francis noticed the difference and now everyone gets the premium class food. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328/65 "2026-11-03T15:15:42Z")
Yeah, but I think if the Pope had signed an affidavit saying that he was actually planning to retire at some point, it would have made the news. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-pope-leo-xiv-have-voted-in-this-weeks-elections/1034328.md?page=3)