Arizona Democratic Party censures Kyrsten Sinema for protecting filibuster

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The Arizona Democratic Party Saturday formally censured Sen. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., for refusing to roll back the Senate filibuster in order to pass major voting rights reforms. 

The executive board Saturday made the public rebuke following Sinema's vote this week to keep the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, along with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and all Senate Republicans. Her decision helped scuttle President Biden's goal of passing major election reforms. 

"I want to be clear, the Arizona Democratic Party is a diverse coalition with plenty of room for policy disagreements, however on the matter of the filibuster and the urgency to protect voting rights, we have been crystal clear," Arizona Democratic Party Chair Raquel Terán said in a statement. "In the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting Arizonans’ right to vote, we choose the latter, and we always will."

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Terán cited efforts by Republicans in Arizona and nationwide to restrict voter access and said the federal voting rights legislation was needed to protect democracy. 

 "While we take no pleasure in this announcement, the ADP Executive Board has decided to formally censure Senator Sinema as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy," she wrote.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, listens during a news conference in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.  (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The board action Saturday is the result of a resolution Arizona Democratic Party state committee members passed in the fall that authorized the executive board to censure Sinema if she chose to protect the filibuster and obstruct voting rights legislation.

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Terán said the party appreciates Sinema for passing the major coronavirus relief legislation and leading on the bipartisan infrastructure law, however, the party could not ignore her recent vote since the "ramifications of failing to pass federal legislation that protects their right to vote are too large and far-reaching."

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., delivers remarks on the Senate floor in support of the legislative filibuster, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. 

Sinema's office noted that the senator still supports voting rights legislation, but she has been clear that preserving the 60-vote threshold was important to protect against wild policy swings. 

"During three terms in the U.S. House, and now in the Senate, Kyrsten has always promised Arizonans she would be an independent voice for the state -- not for either political party," Sinema's office said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "She’s delivered for Arizonans and has always been honest about where she stands."

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The senator gave an impassioned speech from the Senate floor last week where she stood up for voting rights legislation but said she could not break the filibuster to get it passed. She said the 60-vote threshold is needed to foster bipartisanship. 

"[W]hile I continue to support these bills, I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division affecting our country," Sinema said.