Pope Leo Votes by Post in Chicago, a First for a Sitting Pontiff

Pope Leo has voted in the United States midterm elections, submitting a ballot by post in his native Chicago, according to the Guardian and CBS News. The Guardian reported on Friday that it is the first time a sitting pontiff is known to have cast a ballot in any political election in history. CBS News said the Vatican described the vote as an exercise of the pope's rights as a US citizen.

Both accounts placed the ballot ahead of next week's midterms. The Guardian noted that Leo, a US citizen, has clashed with Donald Trump over several issues, without itemising them; it did not say which candidates or parties he supported, and CBS gave no account of how he voted.

The novelty lies in the office of the voter rather than in the mechanism. Postal voting from abroad is ordinary practice for US citizens resident overseas, and neither outlet treated the procedure as unusual; what both reported as unprecedented is that the postal voter is also the sovereign of Vatican City and the bishop of Rome.