Pope Leo Casts a Postal Ballot in Chicago, a First for the Papacy

Pope Leo has voted in the United States midterm elections, the Guardian reported on Friday, submitting a postal ballot from his native Chicago. The paper described it as the first time a sitting pontiff is known to have cast a ballot in any political election in history.

The Vatican said the pope had exercised his right as a U.S. citizen and had submitted a mail-in ballot ahead of next week's midterms, CBS News reported. Neither account said which contests appeared on his ballot, nor how he voted; both confined the Vatican's remarks to confirming that the vote had been cast.

The Guardian noted that Leo has clashed with Donald Trump over several issues, without itemising them. The arrangement behind the story is unusual in itself: the same man is head of the Holy See, sovereign of Vatican City — the enclave inside Rome — and a voting American citizen born in Chicago.