亚利桑那州民主党执行委员会周六上午正式指责参议员基尔斯顿·西内马(Kyrsten Sinema)，因为她在改变阻挠议事规则以通过投票权改革方面没有采取行动。
"...关于阻挠议事和保护投票权的紧迫性，我们已经非常清楚。女主席拉奎尔·特兰在一份声明中说:“在过时的立法规范和保护亚利桑那州人的投票权之间，我们选择后者，我们将永远选择后者。
“虽然我们对这一宣布并不感到高兴，但民主行动党执行委员会已决定正式谴责参议员西内马，因为她未能尽一切努力确保我们民主的健康发展。”
西内玛正面临着那些帮助她当选的人的新一轮压力，因为她和西弗吉尼亚州参议员乔·曼钦是本周唯一两个投票反对阻挠议事改革的民主党人，这实际上破坏了投票权立法的通过。
民主党在参议院微弱的多数意味着阻挠议事改革被视为通过《投票自由:约翰·刘易斯法案》的关键——这是民主党人和乔·拜登总统的首要任务。
亚利桑那州的民主党人组织了大量的活动来选举辛尼玛进入参议院——她之前在美国众议院任职——帮助她险胜。他们游说辛尼玛几个月来改变她在阻挠议事上的立场，但许多人无法与参议员会面。
由于她拒绝改变阻挠议事规则——站在共和党一边——以及目前在参议院的投票权被剥夺，亚利桑那州的民主党人正在筹集资金，以支持西内马在2024年的主要挑战者。有影响力的佛蒙特州独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯本周表示，他将支持对西内马的挑战。
今年夏天，亚利桑那州民主党承诺，如果西内马不改变立场，为投票改革扫清道路，将对她投“不信任票”。他们在星期六早上对她进行了谴责。
亚利桑那州民主党主席拉奎尔·特兰在一份声明中说:“这不应该是一个党派问题——保护我们最基本的投票权的义务是我们所有人的共同义务。”。“我们原本指望参议员西内马为亚利桑那州而战，找到前进的道路，保护我们的民主，但在这个问题上，她没有做到。现在，亚利桑那州是现代争取投票权斗争的起点，我们没有任何时间可以浪费。”
大峡谷州是共和党领导的投票改革的热点。2020年大选后，州参议院下令对该州数百万张选票进行党派审查，在共和党控制的州立法机构表示关注限制性投票法案的同时，审查开始进行。共和党人几乎取消了该州的永久提前投票名单，使选票不再自动发送给没有使用该系统的选民。这些法案是2021年共和党立法的基石，2022年的会议将继续关注选举改革。
国内的活动人士和选民指出，这些共和党领导的努力是西内马拒绝让步的背景。
Sinema本周失去了艾米丽名单的主要支持，艾米丽名单是一个大型政治组织，为他们支持的运动提供资金，包括那些支持堕胎权利的运动。
一个由该州民主党人组成的团体联盟写信给该团体，要求其就该问题采取行动。投票前，艾米丽的名单宣布，如果西内玛不改变立场，就不会再次支持她。
“如果辛尼马参议员不能支持通过这项立法的前进道路，我们认为她破坏了我们民主的基础，她自己的胜利之路，也破坏了艾米丽名单的使命，我们将无法支持她前进，”艾米丽名单主席拉蓬扎·巴特勒在一份声明中说。
这些活动人士也写信给其他大型政治捐助团体，包括关注男女同性恋、双性恋、变性者和双性人问题的人权运动。
寻求资助主要挑战者的团体已经筹集了至少45.5万美元。两个团体尚未选出一名候选人，但其他民主党人正在游说众议员鲁本·加列戈挑战西内马。如果他选择参加竞选，一个名为“跑鲁本跑”的政治行动委员会将向他的方向输送资金。
加列戈没有排除竞选西内马席位的可能性，在本周参议院投票失败后，他在推特上发出了含蓄的警告。
“我对参议院未能通过约翰·刘易斯投票权法案感到失望。但我不会放弃&你也不应该放弃。让我们努力选举支持投票权的优秀民主党人，并在22年及以后击败不支持投票权的人，”加列戈在推特上写道。
这位国会议员还告诉美国有线电视新闻网，他的电话一直在响，要求他加入反对西内马的行列，他说“过去与西内马参议员发生的很多事情都让他感到非常沮丧，这是一个转折点。”
民主党人誓言巩固该国投票权的斗争尚未结束，但对一些人来说，这场斗争将继续下去，重点是取代西内马。
“数百万民主党人和支持民主的独立人士对西内马感到愤怒，”一个筹款团体在周三投票后的一篇帖子中写道。“给他们一个机会，带着那种愤怒去做一些有助于扭转局势的事情。这场战斗还没有结束。但我们将共同确保基尔斯顿·西内马在民选职位上的职业生涯今晚结束。”
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema formally censured by Arizona Democratic Party
The Arizona Democratic Party's executive committee formally censured Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Saturday morning as a result of her inaction on changing the filibuster rules to pass voting rights reform.
"...on the matter of the filibuster and the urgency to protect voting rights, we have been crystal clear. In the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting Arizonans’ right to vote, we choose the latter, and we always will," Chairwoman Raquel Teran said in a statement.
"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.”
Sinema is facing renewed heat from those who helped elect her after she and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia this week were the only two Democrats to vote against filibuster reform, effectively derailing passage of voting rights legislation.
The slim Democratic majority in the Senate meant filibuster reform was seen as crucial for passing the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act -- a top priority for Democrats and President Joe Biden.
Arizona Democrats organized heavily to elect Sinema to the Senate -- she previously served in the U.S. House -- helping give her a narrow victory. They lobbied Sinema for months to change her stance on the filibuster, but many were unable to get a meeting with the senator.
With her refusal to change the filibuster rule -- siding with Republicans -- and voting rights dead for now in the Senate, Democrats in Arizona are fundraising to support Sinema's primary challenger in 2024. Influential Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders said this week that he'd support a challenge to Sinema.
Over the summer, the Arizona Democratic Party promised to give Sinema a vote of "no confidence" if she didn't change her stance to clear the way voting reform. They issued her censure Saturday morning.
"This should not be a partisan issue -- the duty to protect our most fundamental right to vote is one that we all share," Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Raquel Teran said in a statement. "We were counting on Sen. Sinema to fight for Arizona, find a path forward, and protect our democracy, but on this issue she has fallen short. Right now, Arizona is ground-zero for the modern-day fight for voting rights, and we don't have any time to waste."
The Grand Canyon state is a hotspot for Republican-led changes on voting. After the 2020 election, the state Senate ordered a partisan review of millions of the state's ballots, which unfolded while the Republican-controlled state legislature expressed focus on restrictive voting bills. Republicans all but eliminated the state's permanent early voting list, making it so ballots are no longer automatically sent to voters who haven't used the system. The bills were a cornerstone of GOP lawmaking in 2021, and the 2022 session continues to focus on election reform.
Activists and voters at home point to these Republican-led efforts as a backdrop for Sinema's refusal to budge.
Sinema lost a major endorsement this week from Emily's List, a large political organization that bankrolls campaigns they endorse, including those who support abortion rights.
A coalition of groups -- made up of Democrats in the state -- wrote to the group asking for it to act on the issue. Before the vote, Emily's List announced it would not endorse Sinema again if she didn't change her position.
"If Sen. Sinema can not support a path forward for the passage of this legislation, we believe she undermines the foundations of our democracy, her own path to victory and also the mission of EMILY's List, and we will be unable to endorse her moving forward," Emily's List President Laphonza Butler said in a statement.
Those same activists have written to other big political donor groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, which focuses on LGBTQ+ issues.
Groups looking to fund a primary challenger have raised at least $455,000. Two groups have yet to single out a candidate, but other Democrats are lobbying Rep. Ruben Gallego to challenge Sinema. One political action committee, dubbed "Run Ruben Run," will funnel money in his direction should he choose to enter the race.
Gallego hasn't ruled out a run at Sinema's seat, and he tweeted a veiled warning after the failed Senate votes this week.
"I'm disappointed by the failure of the Senate to move the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. But I'm not giving up & neither should you. Let's work hard to elect good Democrats who support voting rights and defeat the ones who don't — in 22 and beyond," Gallego tweeted.
The congressman also told CNN that his phone has been ringing with requests for him to jump in against Sinema, saying there is "a whole lot of frustration over a lot of things that have occurred in the past with Sen. Sinema, and this has kind of been the breaking point."
Democrats vow the fight to solidify voting rights in the country is not over, but that fight will now continue for some with a focus on replacing Sinema.
"Millions of Democrats and pro-democracy independents are furious with Sinema," one fundraising group wrote in a post after Wednesday's vote. "Give them a chance to do something with that anger that can help turn the tide. This fight is not over. But together we will ensure that Kyrsten Sinema's career in elected office ended tonight."
