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Friday, October 30, 2026

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Photo: Axios

U.S. Politics · Elections · 25 outlets (L 4 · C 12 · R 7 · 2 not rated)

Pope Leo XIV becomes first pope to vote in a US election

Pope Leo XIV has voted in the U.S. midterm elections, becoming the first pope known to have cast a ballot in a U.S. election, the Vatican confirmed Friday.⁠[5, 6, 16 +1] The Chicago-born pontiff, who remains a U.S. citizen, submitted a mail-in ballot in Chicago ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.⁠[1, 7, 17] The Vatican cited his long-standing belief in civic participation.⁠[17, 27]

The Will County Clerk's Office confirmed Leo, registered under his birth name Robert Francis Prevost, requested a ballot on October 3.⁠[2, 11] Earlier reports said Leo had requested a mail-in ballot; the Vatican later confirmed he had submitted it.⁠[6, 12, 13] State election records show Leo has voted in two Democratic and three Republican primaries since 2008, according to the Daily Beast; Fortune reported he requested GOP primary ballots three times and Democratic ones twice.⁠[2, 10]

Covered by The New York Times, NBC News, Fox News and 22 more

Read first Pope Leo casts historic U.S. vote after years of requesting both parties' primary ballots · Yahoo News

How balanced is this coverage?

Of the 23 rated outlets that covered it, 4 are left of center, 12 are center and 7 are right of center (6 of them in the Right group). 2 more are not rated.

Where the outlets sit
HuffPost · Leans left · −1.06The New York Times · Leans left · −0.70The Guardian · Leans left · −0.70The Daily Beast · Leans left · −0.64NBC News · Center · −0.49PBS NewsHour · Center · −0.48Newsweek · Center · −0.30Fortune · Center · −0.25ABC News · Center · −0.19CBS News · Center · −0.14Axios · Center · −0.05Mediaite · Center · +0.04Yahoo News · Center · +0.07The Hill · Center · +0.10UPI · Center · +0.17Forbes · Center · +0.19New York Post · Leans right · +0.64The Washington Times · Right · +1.27Washington Examiner · Right · +1.34Fox News · Right · +1.52The Daily Caller · Right · +1.91Breitbart · Right · +2.03The Daily Wire · Right · +2.07
  • Left: none.
  • Leans left: HuffPost (−1.06), The New York Times (−0.70), The Guardian (−0.70), The Daily Beast (−0.64).
  • Center: NBC News (−0.49), PBS NewsHour (−0.48), Newsweek (−0.30), Fortune (−0.25), ABC News (−0.19), CBS News (−0.14), Axios (−0.05), Mediaite (+0.04), Yahoo News (+0.07), The Hill (+0.10), UPI (+0.17), Forbes (+0.19).
  • Leans right: New York Post (+0.64).
  • Right: The Washington Times (+1.27), Washington Examiner (+1.34), Fox News (+1.52), The Daily Caller (+1.91), Breitbart (+2.03), The Daily Wire (+2.07).

Not rated BBC News, Los Angeles Times. Not placed: they have no lean score.

Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.

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Sources

Left

  1. 1 HuffPost · Leans left · Oct 30, 9:39 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV Becomes First Pope To Vote In A U.S. General Election
  2. 2 The Daily Beast · Leans left · Oct 30, 10:56 a.m. ETPope Leo Casts His Vote in U.S. Midterms
  3. 3 The Guardian · Leans left · Oct 30, 12:01 p.m. ETPope Leo votes in US midterms in first known political ballot for any pontiff
  4. 4 The New York Times · Leans left · Oct 30, 11:59 a.m. ETPope Leo Votes by Mail, From the Vatican, in Illinois Midterm Election

Center

  1. 5 ABC News · Center · Oct 30, 9:22 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV has become the first pope in history to vote in a US election
  2. 6 Axios · Center · Oct 30, 11:07 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV becomes first pope to vote in U.S. election
  3. 7 CBS News · Center · Oct 30, 9:50 a.m. ETPope Leo becomes first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election
  4. 8 CBS News · Center · Oct 30, 2:44 p.m. ETPope Leo becomes the first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election
  5. 9 Forbes · Center · Oct 30, 4:00 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV Has Requested Mail-In Ballot For U.S. Midterms
  6. 10 Fortune · Center · Oct 30, 9:42 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV becomes the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election — he’s requested GOP primary ballots 3 times and Democratic twice
  7. 11 Mediaite · Center · Oct 30, 6:57 a.m. ETPope Leo Could Make History After Requesting Mail-In Ballot for Midterms
  8. 12 NBC News · Center · Oct 29, 9:44 p.m. ETPope Leo requested an absentee ballot in Illinois to vote in the midterms
  9. 13 Newsweek · Center · Oct 29, 9:16 p.m. ETPope Leo May Be Among the Nearly 20 Million Americans Voting Early
  10. 14 PBS NewsHour · Center · Oct 30, 12:53 p.m. ETLeo XIV has become the first pope in history to vote in a U.S. general election
  11. 15 The Hill · Center · Oct 30, 11:25 a.m. ETLeo XIV becomes first pope ever to vote in US general election
  12. 16 UPI · Center · Oct 30, 12:28 p.m. ETPope Leo is first pope to vote in U.S. elections
  13. 17 Yahoo News · Center · Oct 30, 8:59 a.m. ETPope Leo casts historic U.S. vote after years of requesting both parties' primary ballots

Right

  1. 18 Breitbart · Right · Oct 29, 9:37 p.m. ETReport: Pope Leo XIV Requested a Mail-In Ballot for the Illinois Midterm Elections
  2. 19 Breitbart · Right · Oct 30, 9:55 a.m. ETVatican Confirms Pope Leo ‘Exercised His Right to Vote’ in U.S. Midterms; Pope Affirms ‘Duty of Citizens to Participate in Democratic Processes’
  3. 20 Fox News · Right · Oct 30, 10:45 a.m. ETPope Leo makes history in US election with move confirmed by Vatican
  4. 21 New York Post · Leans right · Oct 30, 9:35 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV makes history as first pope to vote in US general election
  5. 22 The Daily Caller · Right · Oct 30, 1:07 p.m. ETPope Leo XIV Makes History As First Pope To Vote In US Election
  6. 23 The Daily Wire · Right · Oct 30, 6:22 a.m. ETIllinois Man Casts Mail-In Ballot. He Happens To Be The Pope.
  7. 24 The Washington Times · Right · Oct 30, 8:59 a.m. ETPope Leo poised to make history by voting in U.S. midterm election
  8. 25 Washington Examiner · Right · Oct 30, 9:37 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV requested a ballot to vote by mail in 2026 elections

Not rated

  1. 26 BBC News · Not rated · Oct 30, 10:48 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV becomes first pontiff to vote in a US election
  2. 27 Los Angeles Times · Not rated · Oct 30, 10:30 a.m. ETPope Leo XIV has become the first pope in history to vote in a U.S. general election
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