Who Ties Their Shoelaces for Them?

A JUDGE RULED earlier this month that a state-approved voter ID was not needed to cast a ballot in the presidential race Nov. 6, but voter-rights advocates say state billboards about the law are confusing people.

Like the 10 ads placed in predominantly Hispanic communities with a photo of a woman holding up her driver's license. "Esta jornada electoral si la tienes muestrala," it reads in Spanish, which means: "This Election Day, if you have it, show it."

"It's causing confusion with voters and now a lot of anger in the Hispanic community," Juan Ramos, a former Philadelphia City Council member and head of the Delaware Valley Voter Registration Education Project, said at a news conference in City Hall on Monday. He said the billboards went up last week. "The state should emphasize that you don't need it to vote."
 

For those of you playing along at home, Pennsylvania passed a Voter ID Law, but it was temporarily shot down this election cycle under the guise that more time was needed to inform the public.  The advocates against Voter ID will take a different tact, and attempt to shut it down permanently between now and the election after this current one.  That's beside the point.

The State of Pennsylvania has been running radio spots, putting up billboards, and noting the law on visual media since the lower court Judge made his ruling. 

Part of this ad campaign came to the Hispanic community in downtown Philadelphia with the billboards noted in the article.  They were written in Spanish.  And yet, the advocates of canning Voter ID think the billboards are vague, despite every other nationality and resident of Pennsylvania not having a problem with the State's new motto, "This Election Day, if you have it, show it."

Apparently, the advocates against Voter ID think that the Hispanic community amounts to a bunch of retarded shut-ins.  Were I part of that community, I would be insulted, perhaps even angry that they thought so little of my intelligence.  Of course, the whole basis of holding back Voter ID is to allow illegal immigrants to vote. So, in my opinion, the whole State should be angry.   Many people are.

The real objection by these advocates is that without emphasizing that ID is not necessary, there will be a significant number of Hispanics who won't bother to vote because they have, indeed, been shut-ins and make no effort to learn English or assimilate into the American way of life.  This fosters ignorance of current events and a lack of understanding of the Voter ID laws.  Too freaking bad.