Kansans can vote on their favorite of five proposed license plate designs after Gov. Laura Kelly rescinded the original design after public outcry.
The five designs all adhere to standards established by Kelly’s office on Nov. 28, which specified that graphics must be unobtrusive, the numbering and lettering clear, and any phrase or motto be placed at the bottom. Voting ends at 5 p.m. Friday, and Kelly she will announce the winning design Dec. 18.
In a news release, Kelly said some Kansans sent designs to her office, but the five choices were created by the Kansas-based marketing firm Mammoth Creative Co.
“Many of these designs were beautiful, but we’re moving forward with this voting process to ensure law enforcement can easily read the selected license plate and to get safer plates on the streets as soon as possible,” Kelly said in the release.
All five designs contain the phrase “To the Stars” on the bottom of the plate, which is a tagline used by Kansas Tourism. Graphics on the proposed plates include heads of wheat, sunflowers, stars and the Kansas Statehouse.
Two designs feature a sunburst orange lower half transitioning to a light blue on top. One is solidly white with a blue stripe on top. Another is light blue on the bottom that fades to white with a black stripe across the top. And one is similar to the originally proposed license plate, but using a lighter blue rather than a dark navy across the top.
The emphasis on clear and legible designs are to aid law enforcement and to make them easier to read for automated license plate readers.
“Legible and high-contrast license plates are important for the Kansas Turnpike and for Kansans when they drive on other toll roads,” Steve Hewitt, CEO of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, said in a news release. “Having clear State of Kansas license plates will be crucial in keeping tolls low as we transition to cashless tolling in mid-2024.”
Some aspects of the designs may be tweaked to stay compliant with the parameters for the plates. The governor’s office said the redesigned didn’t incur new costs and were covered by existing contracts.
The design change did change the timeline for receiving new plates, but the release didn’t say how long it would postpone the introduction of new plates to Kansas roadways. On Nov. 28 Kelly estimated it’d delay implementation by about a month.
The Kansas Department of Revenue will continue replacing license plates from traditional embossed designs to digitally produced ones with the current design until a winner is selected.
Kansans can vote for their favorite design at KSPlates.kansas.gov
