Univision Pulls Ads Telling Hispanics Not to Vote in Midterms

(Oct. 19) -- Do two "no's" amount to a yes?

Univision, the most popular Spanish language television station in America, announced that it would not run ads sponsored by a Republican-funded 527 that urged Hispanics not to vote in the upcoming midterm elections because Democrats had failed to follow through on their promise of enacting comprehensive immigration reform.

"Don't vote this November," a narrator tells viewers in Spanish. "This is the only way to send them a clear message, you can no longer take us for granted. Don't vote."

Here's an English language version of the ad:

The group, Latinos for Reform, got the bad news in a phone call from Univision on Tuesday, just two days before the first ads were to be run on the station. On Twitter, meanwhile, the station posted the rationale for its decision.

[RT] Univision prides itself on promoting civic engagement & encouraging Hispanics to vote. Join us. #YaEsHoraless than a minute ago via webUnivision
Univision

Several liberal websites such as Think Progress and Talking Points Memo argue that the group's chairman, Robert de Posada is a conservative activist who is simply launching a campaign to help Republican candidates, and that the group has received large contributions from GOP donors. De Posada has countered that he hoped Latinos would punish both parties by withholding votes.

The 527 had bought substantial airtime in Nevada, for instance, where Democratic majority leader Harry Reid faces a strong challenge from Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.

If the "Don't Vote" ad campaign proved effective, it could have, theoretically lead to an Angle victory, even though the Republican has a much tougher stance on immigration reform than her rival has been taking fierce criticism lately for telling a group of students she knew were Latino that she thought they looked "Asian."

Univision's ratings have continued to grow over recent years to the point where the network is often watched by more people than the major English-speaking networks. Even with the anti-voting ads officially turned away, the question remains just how many of the Spanish-language channel's viewers will actually take part in the November midterms.

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