Pope Leo XIV casts mail-in ballot in U.S. midterms

CBS Philadelphia reports that the Chicago-born pope is the first pontiff to vote in a United States general election.

Channel: CBS Philadelphia Story of October 31, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 44,377 views a day, 22 times a normal first day on this channel (1,969).

Pope Leo XIV makes history as first pontiff to vote in U.S. election

Holding the papacy has not ended Pope Leo XIV's participation in American elections. The Vatican confirmed that he submitted a mail-in ballot ahead of Tuesday's midterms, CBS Philadelphia reports.

The brief report places that historic first alongside an established habit: Leo previously voted while living in Peru. It also conveys the Vatican's explanation that the pope believes citizens have both a right and a duty to participate in the democratic process. The report does not identify his choices on the ballot.

CBS Philadelphia's Short reached roughly 18,000 views in its first six hours, already far beyond the channel's usual full first day for this format. That makes the election update an unusually fast-starting upload for a station whose coverage stretches from Philadelphia's neighborhoods to international affairs.

The distinction in this report is specific: not Leo's first American vote, but his first U.S. general-election ballot as pope.

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Pope Leo XIV casts mail-in ballot in U.S. midterms The full story on Trari: https://trari.com/en/story/cbsphiladelphia-21461/?from=kit

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The numbers

The pope's election update drew an unusually large early audience compared with CBS Philadelphia's usual Shorts.

the video's first day

usual first day here

1,969

this video

44,377

subscribers

427,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

389,834,992

views per day

175,902

typical day: 210,934

the video

views

17,610

likes

126

comments

37

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

NBC Chicago

458,000

FOX 29 Philadelphia

430,000

CBS Philadelphia

427,000

NBCLA

426,000

WCCO - CBS Minnesota

422,000

FOX 13 Seattle

404,000

As of October 31, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.