'She has fallen short': Kyrsten Sinema slammed by Arizona Dem Party for failing to stand up for voting rights

On Thursday, in a highly unusual move, the Arizona Democratic Party publicly condemned their own senator in a press release, sharply criticizing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) for her vote against reforming Senate rules to pass a pair of voting rights bills.

"Unfortunately, the US Senate failed to protect our democracy that is under attack by Republicans across the country," said ADP Chair Raquel Terán. “This should not be a partisan issue — the duty to protect our most fundamental right to vote is one that we all share. Despite last night’s outcome, our fight to protect the rights of Arizonans by passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act continues."

"We were counting on Senator Sinema to fight for Arizona, find a path forward, and protect our democracy, but on this issue she has fallen short," continued the statement. "Right now, Arizona is ground-zero for the modern-day fight for voting rights, and we don’t have any time to waste.”

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The Freedom to Vote Act would abolish partisan gerrymandering and establish a minimum standard of voting access for all voters nationwide, prohibiting many tactics Republicans use to restrict the vote like making it hard to register or to vote by mail. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore key voting rights protections gutted by the Supreme Court.

Sinema has endorsed both of these bills, but opposes any change to the filibuster rule in the Senate, which allows Republicans to perpetually block both pieces of legislation. Her fellow Arizona senator, Mark Kelly, supports such a change, as do all other Senate Democrats except for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

This debate comes as key Arizona Republican candidates for office, like Kari Lake, have endorsed former President Donald Trump's Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen and even called on election officials to be arrested.