Chris Che
Boston University Statehouse Program
A Natick woman running for the state Legislature has been publicly accused of double voting during 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 twice, in Natick and in Florida, in a Massachusetts Democratic Party press release published in mid-September.
The MetroWest Daily News obtained the 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.
According to records from the Natick Town Clerk’s Office and the Collier County Supervisor of Elections’ office, Cestari first voted in Natick on Oct. 21, 2024, then voted again in Florida a few weeks later, on Election Day. The voting records did not indicate which candidates Cestari voted for.
“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. According to O’Malley, Natick records indicated Cestari voted there through in-person early voting.
O’Malley declined to comment further on behalf of the office, citing an open investigation.
Election officials in Collier County declined to comment beyond confirming the legitimacy of Cestari’s voting records, citing an open investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts also declined to comment.
Both Massachusetts and Florida state laws prohibit voting twice in the same election, with Florida specifically outlawing voting in the same election in both Florida and another state. Under federal law, it is also illegal for someone to vote more than once in federal elections, with penalties of a fine of “not more than $10,000,” imprisonment for up to five years, or both, if convicted.
The Massachusetts Republican Party, the party that Cestari is both a candidate in and a registered voter, has not responded to requests for an interview about the allegations Cestari is currently facing or whether the party conducted background checks on potential candidates running as Republicans.
“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,” Adam Roof, the executive director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said. “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 immediately reached for comment, but the Massachusetts Democratic Party as well as Rep. David Linsky, whom Cestari is challenging, both denied any association with Zaino in phone interviews.
“I’ve been aware of these records and these allegations for some time. 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,” he continued.
Cestari declined an interview but responded by email, saying she would not discuss the allegations while the matter is under review. She called the story a “hit piece” and accused Linsky and Zaino for 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 5 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,” said Roof. “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.”
