Voter ID information ads start running in Pa.

The first television ads are running in Pennsylvania as part of an information campaign on the state’s new voter ID law.

The ads telling voters they’ll need to show photo ID at the polls began appearing on TV last week.

 

“If you want a voice, if you want to make a difference, if you want to vote, show it,” advises the ad.

“It’s one of the many ways, whether it’s a TV commercial, maybe it’s a robo call, maybe it’s the mailer … of reaching out to the voter,” says Matthew Keeler, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State. “Making sure everybody’s aware and nobody’s being caught off guard come November.”

The ads are also one of the most expensive items in the Department of State’s arsenal. The state spent $1.3 million on ads to educate voters on the requirements of the controversial new law.

The funds came from a $5 million pot of money the state receives from the federal government under the Help America Vote Act, which was passed after the 2000 elections.

The state was criticized in July for awarding another outreach contract to the Bravo Group, which is run by a fundraising bundler for presidential candidate Mitt Romney.