Pope Casts U.S. Midterm Ballot

(Vatican City) -- Pope Leo is now the first pontiff to ever vote in a U.S. election. The American-born pontiff cast an absentee ballot in Illinois' midterm election as part of his "belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes." The ballot will travel from Vatican City to Joliet, Illinois, where Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, holds registration. Public records show Pope Leo also voted absentee "during his years of residence in Peru."