PHOENIX – House Democratic Leader Reginald Bolding released the following statement today following Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema's floor speech defending the filibuster over renewed protections for voting rights.
"At the Arizona Legislature, we are at the front lines of the radical right-wing's war on voting rights. New and more excessive restrictions on eligible voters are being introduced every day. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act would reinstate a federal legal backstop to reign in politicians and special interests who are intent on rolling back civil rights and ending democracy itself in our country. While Senator Sinema gives speeches, those enemies of democracy make more progress by the minute.
Senator Sinema defends the antiquated Jim Crow-era filibuster by arguing that any rights granted by passage of a new voting rights act under regular order could be rolled back in future years if Republicans regain power. I challenge her to step outside the DC bubble and take a closer look around her state and her country. Those rights are being systematically rolled back right now -- here and in state legislatures around the country.
Given the choice to cement the legacy of John Lewis or stomp on it, I will never understand the speech Senator Sinema delivered today."
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