PITTSBURGH — Elections officials say former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and his wife, Karen, are eligible to vote in suburban Pittsburgh.

Santorum's political foes challenged the absentee ballots cast in Penn Hills in the election, claiming the Santorums live in northern Virginia.

Santorum maintains a residence in Penn Hills next to his wife's parents, but the family stays in northern Virginia.

Santorum says he filed an absentee ballot because he knew he'd be working as a commentator for Fox News.

Allegheny County elections officials on Friday rejected a petition filed by Ed Vecchio, a Penn Hills Democratic committeeman. Officials say Vecchio didn't prove his case.

Santorum called the challenge an example of "the politics of personal destruction."