Of all the absentee ballots headed to Illinois this year, one is from an address no other American voter can claim: the Vatican.

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, has cast a mail-in ballot in tomorrow's midterm election. That makes him the first pope in history to vote in an American election.

The Vatican confirmed it. "Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," the Holy See Press Office said. "In keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago."

The paperwork is in order. He requested the ballot on October 3. "Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election," said Kim Fladhammer, chief of staff to the Will County clerk. He's still registered in Will County, southwest of Chicago, so his ballot includes the U.S. Senate race, the governor's race and local judges.

Illinois lets any registered voter vote by mail, including those living overseas, as long as they keep an Illinois voting address. "There is no such thing as an absentee ballot in Illinois law anymore," said Matt Dietrich of the Illinois State Board of Elections. "Any Illinois registered voter can vote by mail."

Legally, it's simple. Whether it's a good idea is another question.

Leo XIV is a U.S. citizen, but he's also the sovereign of Vatican City, an independent country with its own diplomats, its own foreign policy and its own seat as an observer at the United Nations. Jonathan Turley, the law professor and Fox News contributor, says that raises real questions about foreign heads of state voting in American elections. It's hard to picture America shrugging if another country's sitting head of state mailed in a ballot for Congress.

The Vatican sees it differently. Its statement said the Pope believes in "the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed: "In voting, our Holy Father sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility." The Vatican also noted that while Prevost was living in Peru as a missionary and bishop, he voted there whenever he could, too.

Nobody knows how he voted this time. The ballot is secret, and the Vatican isn't saying.

His voting record has turned some heads, though. Illinois records show Prevost pulled Republican ballots in the state's primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

That's the first American pope, from a state that hasn't voted Republican for president since 1988, with a history of voting in GOP primaries.

What he did this time, only he and Will County know. But the man who leads 1.3 billion Catholics just sent a message to every American who's thinking about skipping the polls tomorrow. If the Pope can find the time to vote from the Vatican, the rest of us can make it to the polling place down the street.