Choosing the Next Pope: The Voting Process

Vatican City, 8 May, 2025 - The election of a Pope takes place in a highly structured and secretive process within the Sistine Chapel. The procedure, known as the papal conclave, is governed by the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis. It involves 133 cardinal electors, who vote to choose the 267th Roman Pontiff.

Ballot Distribution and Roles

Each cardinal receives at least two or three ballots. Before voting begins, the senior cardinal deacon draws lots to assign specific roles: three scrutineers (vote counters), three infirmarii (to collect votes from ill cardinals), and three revisers (to check the vote count). If any are unfit to serve, replacements are chosen. This is the pre-scrutiny phase.

All non-electors, such as ceremonial officers and assistants, leave the chapel before voting. The doors are then sealed, to be opened only as necessary, such as when the infirmarii collects votes from cardinals too ill to attend.

Voting Procedure

The ballot is rectangular, with a Latin phrase on the top half and a blank bottom half for writing the chosen candidate’s name. The cardinal folds it in half and proceeds, in order of precedence, to the altar. There, a chalice with a plate on top is placed. The cardinal raises the folded ballot, declares in Italian an oath affirming his honest vote before God, and drops it into the chalice using the plate.

Cardinals unable to walk to the altar can give their ballot to a scrutineer, who deposits it on their behalf. Ill cardinals in their rooms are visited by the infirmarii, who bring a sealed box with a slit and a tray of ballots. Once those votes are cast, the box is brought back, unlocked before the full assembly, and the votes are added to the main count.

Counting the Votes

Once voting concludes, the first scrutineer mixes the ballots in the chalice. The last scrutineer then counts them and moves them to a second container. If the number of ballots doesn’t match the number of voters, the vote is null and repeated. Otherwise, the ballots are opened and read aloud: the first scrutineer reads the name, the second verifies it, and the third announces it and records it.

To ensure transparency, the scrutineers tally the votes together. If two ballots appear to be from the same cardinal and list the same name, they count as one. If they list different names, both are void, though the vote is still valid. Once done, the ballots are threaded with string and stored.

Majority and Smoke Signals

A two-thirds majority is required to elect a Pope — for 133 cardinals, that means 89 votes. After the count, the revisers verify the tallies. All ballots are burned in a cast-iron stove dating back to 1939, with chemicals added to produce black smoke (no election) or white smoke (a Pope has been chosen).

Further Voting and Pauses

Voting occurs four times daily: two rounds in the morning and two in the afternoon. If no Pope is elected after three days, a day of prayer and discussion follows. Further pauses and spiritual exhortations are held after every seven rounds. After 21 rounds without success, voting is restricted to the top two candidates — who may not vote — and a two-thirds majority is still required.

Once elected, the new Pope is led to the “Room of Tears” to put on his white vestments for the first time.

Courtesy: Vatican News