Here's the new Kansas license plate design as chosen by voters after public outcry

Kansans have chosen a new license plate design from among five pre-approved choices after public outcry led Gov. Laura Kelly to rescind a previous design.

"It's great to see Kansans' passion for representing our great state," Kelly said in a Monday afternoon 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 governor's office said that 53% of the 270,000 total votes went to "the design featuring the Kansas Statehouse dome within a cutout of the state and a yellow, white, and blue gradient background."

The plate design most similar to the one Kelly unveiled in November got the least votes at 5%.

The new plate design features are as follows:

• Seven black numbers and letters for the tag number.

• "KANSAS" in blue block lettering at the top.

• "To the stars" in blue script lettering at the bottom.

• A background of yellow at the bottom that fades into blue at the top.

• An image of the Kansas Statehouse dome and Ad Astra statue in the bottom left corner.

• An outline of the state with the distinctive shape of the Missouri River in the top right corner.

Gov. Laura Kelly previously chose a disliked design

Last legislative session, Kansas Department of Revenue officials asked lawmakers and the governor for funding to replaced embossed license plates. Officials said at the time that they were unsure whether that project would involve a new plate design, and they told The Topeka Capital-Journal in May that "a design has yet to be determined, but the Division of Vehicles has assembled a team to discuss plate design options."

The new license plate design was first reported by The Topeka Capital-Journal last month. State legislators were first told about a new design chosen by the governor at a committee meeting in early November, prior to the governor publicly announcing the design later that month.

It featured a yellow, black and dark blue color scheme. The dark blue appeared to be black to many people, contributing to criticism that the plate was more representative of the University of Missouri than of Kansas.

Kelly said at the time that "the new license plate design promotes the state and our sense of optimism as Kansans travel near and far. It serves as a reminder that there are endless possibilities and that we should always reach for the stars."

She rescinded the new plate design after six days of public outcry.

"I promised to be a bipartisan governor, and I think we can all admit — I succeeded at bringing Kansans across the political aisle together in disliking this new license plate," Kelly said.

The governor's office then established the public voting process, which was a first for Kansas. The state has never before allowed public input on the standard tag, Kelly's office said, and the governor has requested that the Department of Revenue review its process moving forward.

Voters had to put a first name, last name and Kansas ZIP code for their vote to be accepted. People were allowed to vote as many times as they wanted last week. Votes cast with non-Kansas ZIP codes were not counted.

There was no additional cost to the state for designing additional options or creating a voting website as existing contracts covered the expenses.

Why were all the license plate designs simple?

All five license plate designs were relatively simple.

That's because authorities wanted to maximize readability by law enforcement and license plate readers.

"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 governor's office said that "one of the challenges of designing a license plate is meeting the primary reason license plates exist: to be clear and easy to read."

Capt. Candice Breshears, of the Kansas Highway Patrol, said law enforcement "appreciate that the backgrounds of these license plates do not interfere" with reading the tag number.

"Legible and high-contrast license plates are important for the Kansas Turnpike and for Kansans when they drive on other toll roads," said Kansas Turnpike Authority CEO Steve Hewitt. "Having clear State of Kansas license plates will be crucial in keeping tolls low as we transition to cashless tolling in mid-2024."

Kansas did not allow license plate design submissions

While some creative people made their own license plate designs that were popular on social media, none of those were allowed to be submitted.

"So many of the designs circulated on social media and sent to my office are beautiful works of art but, unfortunately cannot be used given the strict public safety, printing, and branding guidelines the new license plate has to meet," Kelly said.

The government presented five pre-approved designs.

"The proposed designs were chosen in part because they align with Kansas Tourism design standards, with law enforcement needs, and with the following guidelines," a state website said.

What were the license plate design rules?

The Kansas license plate designs must comply with multiple rules.

• A seven digit tag number.

• The tag number must be black.

• The license plate must have a light background behind the license plate number.

• The background design must not interfere with the ability to read the license plate number.

• Any phrase, motto, or slogan must be placed at the bottom of the license plate.

• Any graphic must be placed on the sides of the tag number.

• Graphics must not resemble letters, numbers or special characters in a way that would interfere with the ability to read the license plate number.

Who is getting the new standard license plate design first?

The new license plate design is part of a bigger project to replace embossed license plates. Those are the older ones with the raised tag number, as opposed to the newer digitally printed ones with flat tag numbers.

The embossed license plates are more difficult to read, especially as they deteriorate and lose their reflectivity. Many have been on the road more than the intended useful life.

Officials have said that as of now, the new design will be on new plates sent to replace the old embossed plates, but only for people who have the standard design. The new plates will not be ready in time for those drivers with embossed plates who renew their registrations in the first couple months of 2024.

The Legislature and governor did not appropriate enough money last session to replace all standard license plates. For now, people with digitally printed standard license plates won't get a new one. Neither will people with embossed specialty plates.

What can I do if I don't like the license plate designs?

Kansas has more than 50 specialty license plates that drivers can choose from, for an extra fee.

More information on distinctive license plate options is available online from the Kansas Department of Revenue at www.ksrevenue.gov/dovplates.html.

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas reveals new standard license plate design after public vote