A GOP ward leader in Philadelphia was booted from office Saturday after fellow Republicans became concerned that their colleague was cheating the local ballot box. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Billy Lanzilotti, 23, of South Philadelphia’s 39th Ward, redirected constituents’ mail-in ballots to a postal box registered to his Republican Registration Coalition PAC. Through the potential “ballot harvesting” scheme, Lanzilotti went door-to-door earlier this month to help residents register to vote in a May 17 primary. He reportedly admitted to writing the address of his PAC rather than the resident’s address as a “convenience to the voter.” After speaking with 12 of 39 voters who encountered Lanzilotti on their doorsteps, the Inquirer found that only two knew he was completing the form with an address other than their own. It is unclear if Lanzilotti broke the law in any way, but the behavior was enough for Philadelphia’s Republican leaders to hastily vote him out. “The Philly GOP takes any allegations of election improprieties very seriously regardless of political party,” Martina White, chairperson of the Republican City Committee, said. Lanzilotti declined to comment on the matter.
