By Chris Che
A Natick woman running for the state Legislature has been publicly accused of voting twice in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Luisa Cestari, a Republican running for the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 5th Middlesex District, which covers Natick and parts of Wayland, was accused of voting in both Natick and Florida, in a Massachusetts Democratic Party press release issued in mid-September.
A Boston University student journalist obtained Cestari’s voting records independently through public records requests to officials in both Natick and Collier County, Florida, and both matched those published by MassDems in the press release.
Cestari has called the allegations “mudslinging” and “fake news” in Facebook posts. She declined to speak with a reporter, calling the reporting a “hit piece.”
According to records from the Natick Town Clerk’s Office and the Collier County Supervisor of Elections’ office, Cestari voted in Natick on Oct. 21, 2024, then voted again in Florida two weeks later, on Election Day. Voting records do not indicate which candidates someone voted for.
Both Massachusetts and Florida prohibit voting twice in the same election, and federal law makes it illegal to vote more than once in federal elections, with penalties of a fine of up to $10,000 and five years in prison.
“We are aware of this matter, which has been referred by our office to the FBI and Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Debra O’Malley, communications director for the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, wrote in an email reply to a reporter. According to O’Malley, Natick records indicated Cestari voted there through in-person early voting. O’Malley declined to comment further, citing an open investigation.
Election officials in Collier County declined to comment beyond confirming the legitimacy of Cestari’s voting records, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts also declined to comment.
The Massachusetts Republican Party did not respond to requests for an interview about the allegations or whether the party conducted background checks on potential candidates running as Republicans.
The Massachusetts Democratic Party, which called for authorities to investigate the allegations in the press release, welcomed the news that the case has now been referred to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I think that voter fraud in any type is a serious issue, and also, we may be a state party, but voter fraud in identifying it and calling it out is a nonpartisan issue, more of a civil issue,” said Adam Roof, the executive director of the MassDems. “The fact that it’s advancing in a way that could lead to accountability as well as in a way that voters would be aware of this…we support that process.”
Natick resident Joseph Zaino posted the allegations in a public Facebook group for the town’s residents, claiming Cestari voted twice. Zaino could not be reached for comment, but the MassDems and Rep. David Linsky, whom Cestari is challenging, both denied having any association with Zaino in phone interviews.
“I’ve been aware of these records and these allegations for some time,” Linsky said. “As a former prosecutor, I trust in law enforcement to do their job and do whatever is appropriate here,” said Linsky, who previously was an assistant district attorney for Middlesex County before being elected as a state representative in 1999.
“If proven, these are serious allegations, but I am running my campaign for reelection based on my record of service to the community and the issues that the voters of Natick and Wayland care about today.”
Cestari declined to speak with a reporter but responded by email, saying she would not discuss the allegations while the matter is under review, and accused Linsky and Zaino of prompting the reporting. She also criticized Linsky’s legislative records in her statement.
In an earlier statement posted on her official campaign Facebook page the day after MassDems published the allegations, Cestari called them “mudslinging” and “fake news.” In a separate comment on Zaino’s Facebook post about the allegations, Cestari called him a “stalker” and raised the possibility of seeking a restraining order against him.
“Anyone can receive a mail-in ballot and not send it in. I received five mail-in ballots after my mother passed and turned them back to the town that mailed them,” Cestari wrote. “I am against mail-in ballots. I didn’t vote on a mail-in ballot, did someone else?”
Records from Natick marked her in-person early ballot in Massachusetts as “accepted,” while Florida records showed her 2024 election status as “voted.”
“I think an explanation is owed,” Roof said. “I think anyone would probably want to jump at the opportunity to explain something like this, and my hope is that she will.”
Roof said Cestari will remain on the ballot for the November election even if she suspends the campaign “or anything of the sort.”
“Ultimately, the voters will be the ones to decide,” he said, “it’s the voters’ decision to make the determination of who they want to elect.”
This story is part of a partnership between the Wayland Post and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom Initiative.
