Storyline · general · 2 reports from 2 newsrooms

Pope Leo XIV casts US midterm ballot

First reported Oct 30, 12:01 PM ET · Latest Oct 30, 12:14 PM ET · Explainer updated Oct 30, 2:05 PM ET

Where things stand

Pope Leo XIV, a US citizen and the current pontiff, submitted a postal ballot in the upcoming US midterm elections, according to reports from Deutsche Welle and The Guardian. The Vatican confirmed the vote was mailed from Chicago, his birthplace, and noted that he did not disclose his choice.

Continuum

Facts

Facts appear here as Relay matches them to the reports.

Timeline

What changed: First known instance of a sitting pope casting a ballot in any political election was reported on Friday.

Every report, newest first

  1. US midterms: Pope Leo XIV casts vote by mail — Deutsche Welle

    As a US citizen, Pope Leo XIV is eligible to vote in US elections and has made use of that right with a postal ballot ahead of Tuesday's midterms. The pontiff, a Chicago native, did not reveal who he voted for.

  2. Pope Leo votes in US midterms in first known political ballot for any pontiff — The Guardian

    US citizen Leo, who has clashed with Donald Trump over several issues, submits his vote by post in Chicago Pope Leo has voted in the US midterm elections – the first time a sitting pontiff is known to have cast a ballot in any political election at any time…

Questions

  • The reports do not reveal which candidate or party the pope supported, nor how his participation may affect public perception of the Vatican’s political stance. Open

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More: background

As a US citizen, the pope is legally eligible to vote in American elections. Voting by mail allows citizens to submit their choices without appearing at a polling place. This marks the first time a pontiff has exercised that right, breaking a historical precedent of papal political neutrality.

How this works: stories from different newsrooms are grouped by topic, then AI writes the explainer using only those reports. It may miss context the reports don't include.