KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas revealed a new license plate design — again — Monday.
After the announcement of the original design was not well received, Gov. Laura Kelly assured Kansans the state would go back to the drawing board.
Five new designs were then put up for a vote, each featuring a variation of the state’s motto, symbols and hues of wheat yellow.
With 53% of the vote, Kansas decided on the plate that features the statehouse dome within the cutout of the state.
Over 140,000 votes were cast for the winning design out of nearly 270,000 total votes, hailing from all 105 counties.
“It’s great to see Kansans’ passion for representing our great state,” Kelly said in a statement. “Now, we can move forward on a design that received majority support and get clearer, safer license plates on the streets as soon as possible.”
The voting window was open from Monday, Dec. 11, through Friday, Dec. 15.
Kelly said this was the first time the state allowed the public to be involved in the process, which the Department of Revenue will be reviewing moving forward.
No votes cast with non-Kansas zip codes were counted.
The runner-ups received 19% (top middle), 13% (bottom right), 10% (top right) and 5% (top left) of the vote.
Despite other artistic takes of the plates that gained traction on social media, Kelly said the plates must follow “strict public safety, printing and branding guidelines."
“Kansans will notice that license plates across the country are moving to simpler designs — that’s because of law enforcement and license plate reader requirements,” Kelly said. “Our number one priority with these license plates is safety.”
The state did not incur any additional cost throughout the selection process.
—
