Sen. Mark Kelly issued a statement Wednesday backing changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules to pass Democrats’ voting rights legislation.
Kelly’s fellow Arizona Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, delivered a floor speech last week against such a maneuver, and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin also issued a statement in opposition. Without Manchin and Sinema, Kelly’s support won’t change the outcome.
However, his statement is notable because he was reportedly hesitant to back the rule change to allow Democrats to pass the bills, which would provide federal oversight of changes to state election laws and redistricting and would roll back some measures passed by Republican state legislatures that Democrats say reduce access to the polls.
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Kelly is a linchpin in Senate Democrats’ plans to keep and expand the Senate majority they won in early 2021 through a pair of runoff elections in Georgia. In 2020, Kelly won the final two years of the late Republican Sen. John McCain’s term, who was elected in 2016. Kelly is a top Republican target in 2022.
In his statement, Kelly said his year in the Senate has shown “how dysfunctional this place can be, and how that prevents progress on issues that matter to Arizonans.”
“We’re seeing that now, as voting rights legislation remains blocked while partisan politicians work to undermine Arizona’s successful vote-by-mail system and create more barriers to vote,” Kelly said.
“As an astronaut and a combat veteran, I can tell you that if NASA or the Navy functioned like the United States Senate, we would never get the rocket off the launchpad and in combat we’d never complete the mission,” he continued, arguing the Senate should be “more responsive to the challenges facing our country.”
Kelly said he’s spoken with members of both parties about how to increase functionality, considering rule changes to bring in the future.
“If campaign finance and voting rights reforms are blocked again this week, I will support the proposed changes to pass them with a majority vote,” Kelly said. “Protecting the vote-by-mail system used by a majority of Arizonans and getting dark money out of our elections is too important to let fall victim to Washington dysfunction.”
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Regardless of the outcome, Kelly said he would encourage bipartisanship “to find common ground as we have on infrastructure, standing up to party politics, and staying focused on doing what is best for Arizona.”
Kelly’s office noted he is a co-sponsor of the Freedom to Vote Act, which would make Election Day a federal holiday, among other provisions.
Still, prospective Republican Senate opponents of Kelly wasted no time blasting his filibuster announcement, invoking President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Of course Mark Kelly was going to cave to Biden and Schumer, he always does,” tweeted Blake Masters, in a tight contest for the GOP Senate nomination with Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.” “By nuking the filibuster, Senator Kelly shows that he’s a danger to Arizona and to America. He is disgusting and he’s got to go.”
