An Oakland County woman has been ordered to stand trial after being accused of fraudulently registering her non-citizen husband to vote ahead of the 2024 presidential election, state authorities announced. The case has advanced to the circuit court level as state prosecutors continue their scrutiny of election law compliance.
Kimberley DiDonato, a 60-year-old resident of Rose Township, was bound over to the Oakland County Circuit Court following preliminary proceedings, according to an announcement released on Monday by the Michigan Attorney General's Office. The decision moves the criminal case into its next procedural phase in county court.
State prosecutors have filed two felony charges against DiDonato in connection with the alleged voter registration. She faces one count of election forgery, a felony offense carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison, along with one count of using a computer to commit a crime, which carries a potential sentence of up to seven years behind bars.
According to official court records, the defendant is scheduled to make her next appearance for an arraignment in Oakland County Circuit Court on September 22. DiDonato is being represented in the proceedings by defense attorney Kevin Kijewski, who was not immediately available to provide comment regarding the charges or the upcoming court date.
The allegations against DiDonato stem from actions that investigators say took place during the spring of 2024. Law enforcement authorities allege that she submitted an online voter registration application in April 2024 by impersonating her spouse, inputting his personal identification information, and falsely attesting that he held United States citizenship.
Investigators noted that while DiDonato is an American citizen, her spouse is a lawful permanent resident. Under both state and federal law, individuals holding lawful permanent resident status are strictly prohibited from registering to vote or casting ballots in any federal or state electoral contests.
State officials stated that the voter registration process initially went through, resulting in the issuance of an official voter registration card. In May 2024, after receiving the documentation by mail, DiDonato reportedly reached out to her local township clerk in Rose Township to request that the newly issued registration be cancelled.
When questioned about her actions, DiDonato told prosecutors that she had intentionally entered the false information into the system as an independent test. According to authorities, the defendant claimed she wanted to probe the state's voter registration portal to determine whether it possessed vulnerabilities that would allow unqualified individuals to register successfully.
The case against DiDonato is part of a broader set of enforcement actions initiated by state election and law enforcement officials. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the criminal charges against DiDonato last month in conjunction with separate cases involving five non-U.S. citizens who were charged for allegedly casting ballots in Michigan during the 2024 election cycle.
Following the announcement that the case had been bound over to circuit court, Attorney General Nessel reaffirmed the state's intent to enforce election statutes vigorously. She highlighted that maintaining public confidence in the electoral framework requires consistent enforcement whenever irregularities and statutory breaches are discovered.
"Trust in our election system requires holding people accountable in the rare instance that they violate our statutes," Nessel said in a prepared statement. "We are pleased this case now heads to trial, where this office will continue its obligation to investigate alleged criminal violations of Michigan Election Law and prosecute offenders."
The legal proceedings against DiDonato arrive amid a series of recent prosecutions throughout Michigan targeting violations of state election laws. These ongoing enforcement efforts have resulted in convictions and formal penalties across multiple local jurisdictions over the past several months.
Just last month, a city councilman in Hamtramck was sentenced to serve a term of probation and complete community service hours. His penalty followed a misdemeanor conviction linked to submitting a false statement on an absentee ballot application during a local voting process.
In another high-profile matter in March, state prosecutors secured a substantial prison sentence for an individual involved in a widespread petition fraud operation. One of two men convicted of orchestrating a signature fraud scheme that caused multiple candidates to be disqualified from Michigan’s August 2022 primary ballot was sentenced to serve between four and 20 years in prison.
With DiDonato's circuit court arraignment set for September 22, the case is poised to test the legal validity of unauthorized independent testing as an explanation for submitting fraudulent voter applications under Michigan law.
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