Crossfiled9 outlets · first filed 15 hours ago
Pope Leo XIV becomes first pope to vote in U.S. election
Pope Leo XIV voted in the 2026 Illinois midterm elections using a mail-in ballot, the Vatican confirmed Friday, becoming the first sitting pope known to vote in an American election. Why it matters: The pontiff, an American citizen, may be the first to vote in any secular democratic election.
What the coverage shows
All three outlets focus on Leo as the first pope to vote in a U.S. election, with CBS News and The Independent explicitly saying he submitted a mail-in ballot. NBC News is the only one to frame it more cautiously, saying he “casts absentee ballot” and noting it is not clear whether the ballot has been mailed. The Independent alone adds the earlier sparring with Donald Trump and the Iran war context.
Written by Crossfiled from the 9 headlines and extracts below, not from the articles themselves. It describes how the outlets framed this, not what happened. Open any headline for a summary of that article.
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