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- Jun 22, 2020
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Billy Lanzilotti, who had been the Republican leader of the 39th Ward, diverted dozens of mail ballots of GOP voters to a P.O. Box registered to his political action committee.
GOP ward leaders voted to oust one of their own Saturday, hours after an Inquirer story highlighted his role in diverting dozens of mail ballots for Republican voters in South Philadelphia to a P.O. box under his control, raising concerns of a potential “ballot harvesting” scheme.
Up until Saturday, Billy Lanzilotti, 23, had led the 39th Ward — a section of deep South Philadelphia, east of Broad Street and south of Mifflin Street.
Most of the mail ballots that he had sent to a P.O. box registered to his Republican Registration Coalition PAC were for voters in the neighboring 26th Ward, where he was also seeking to become ward leader under Republican City Committee rules that allow members to hold that position in multiple wards at a time.
But many of the affected voters told The Inquirer they had no idea why their ballots were being sent to Lanzilotti instead of their home addresses. Some maintained they had never even applied to vote by mail.
GOP ward leaders voted to oust one of their own Saturday, hours after an Inquirer story highlighted his role in diverting dozens of mail ballots for Republican voters in South Philadelphia to a P.O. box under his control, raising concerns of a potential “ballot harvesting” scheme.
Up until Saturday, Billy Lanzilotti, 23, had led the 39th Ward — a section of deep South Philadelphia, east of Broad Street and south of Mifflin Street.
Most of the mail ballots that he had sent to a P.O. box registered to his Republican Registration Coalition PAC were for voters in the neighboring 26th Ward, where he was also seeking to become ward leader under Republican City Committee rules that allow members to hold that position in multiple wards at a time.
But many of the affected voters told The Inquirer they had no idea why their ballots were being sent to Lanzilotti instead of their home addresses. Some maintained they had never even applied to vote by mail.
A South Philly GOP ward leader has been ousted over ‘ballot harvesting’ concerns
Billy Lanzilotti, who had been the Republican leader of the 39th Ward, diverted dozens of mail ballots of GOP voters to a P.O. Box registered to his political action committee.
www.inquirer.com