Kansans voted on a (new) new license plate after everyone hated the last one

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday announced the state’s new standard-issue license plate design, which was selected by a public vote.

The winning design’s background is a gradient of blue, white and yellow. It is designed to resemble the shape of the state and features the Kansas Statehouse dome in the bottom left.

In a release, Kelly said it was the first time Kansans had a say in what their standard tags look like.

“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.”

Kelly last month had unveiled a navy and yellow plate design, but Kansans hated it and took to social media to complain. Some said the plate too closely resembled New York’s plate or the brand colors of the University of Missouri. In response, Kelly announced she would let Kansas residents choose their next license plate from five options.

Online voting on the designs began last week. Each of the designs was created by Kansas-based marketing firm Mammoth Creative Co. in partnership with Kansas Tourism.

During the five-day voting period, nearly 270,000 votes poured in, a release from Kelly’s office said. The winning plate received 53% of the vote, while the initial design received 5%.

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