American-born Pope Leo XIV is having his voting record dug into.

The new pontiff, the first in history to be born in the United States, was an active voter in Republican primaries and in general elections while living in his native Illinois, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

The former Robert Prevost, who lived in Chicago, voted in Republican primaries during the 2012, 2014, and 2016 election cycles, according to records from conservative polling firm Pulse Decision Science and quoted by the Washington Free Beacon.

The new pontifex also voted in general elections in 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2024.

While he voted in presidential elections in 2012 and 2024, the records indicate that the pope did not vote in the presidential elections of 2016 and 2020, when Trump led the GOP ballot. Trump was also the Republican candidate in 2024, when the pope did vote.

Matt Knee, Pulse Decision Science’s chief data officer, told the Free Beacon that the pope’s voting history and public pronouncements lead him to believe that Leo XIV is a former Republican.

“The fact that he hasn’t voted in a Republican primary since 2016 and, in fact, didn’t vote in the general in ’16 – and his public statements. – if I had to guess, he certainly would fit the profile of a former or Never Trump-type ex-Republican,” Knee said.

Voters are prohibited from registering with a political party in Illinois, so Leo XIV’s voting record doesn’t mean that he was registered with the GOP. The records do however show that he only voted in primaries on the GOP side.

Illinois records indicate that the pope did not donate to any political campaigns.

A pope’s potential voting-booth support for an American president has never been an issue because a U.S.-born pope has never been elected before.

Leo XIV on his X account has also shard criticisms of Trump, and in February, the future pontiff shared a National Catholic Reporter article that was critical of Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic.

Following the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Leo XIV reposted calls for gun control from Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.