PENN HILLS — Political foes are challenging the absentee ballot filed by Rick Santorum, the former Republican U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.

Edward Vecchio, the husband of Penn Hills Democrat chairman Erin Vecchio, paid the $10 fee to challenge Santorum's right to vote there.

Erin Vecchio, who is on the local school board, has previously made an issue of Santorum's residency. She challenged his right to send his children to a charter school paid for by the district before he lost his Senate seat to Bob Casey in 2006.

The Vecchios claim Santorum really lives in Virginia, even though the senator also owns a home in Penn Hills, next to his in-laws.