Voting Ends Today in Tag Design Contest
Second round of voting concludes after original results discarded due to controversy over “In God We Trust” decals.
Photos
UPDATED: 1:45 p.m.
The second round of voting for Georgia’s new license plate design ends today.
The last vote, which began in June and concluded July 8, was discarded after confusion over whether or not the statement “In God We Trust” was intended to be part of the plate design.
On July 14, the Georgia Department of Revenue revealed the three plate designs that received the most votes during the first online contest. Noticeably absent from the top designs was the statement "In God We Trust" that was displayed across the bottom of all three finalist tags during the preliminary voting.
Gov. Nathan Deal was set to reveal the winning design on Friday, July 15, however, after a public outcry regarding the missing "In God We Trust" motto, Deal elected to reopen the online voting.
During the new round of voting, all eight plate designs were left blank in the area where the county name or the “In God We Trust” decal will be displayed. According to a Department of Revenue spokesperson, the "In God We Trust" decal will be available as an optional purchase. Citizens electing to use the "In God We Trust" decal will pay an addition dollar and display it in lieu of the county name that is currently placed across the bottom of each tag. There will be no additional charge for the county decal.
According to a Georgia Department of Revenue press release, the department “encourages the public to vote for the license plate design that will advertise, popularize and otherwise promote Georgia as the Peach State.”
Voting will remain open until 3 p.m. today. You can vote by visiting the Department of Revenue website.
The three plate designs with the most votes will once again be presented to Gov. Deal who will announce the winning design.
The finalists are expected to be presented at 3 p.m. today.
Scott
5:07 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
WOW! Who thought closing the votes at 3pm would be a good idea? Well...it's closed and the 3 finalist are up there now. Hopefully Deal will pick Tag ID 1 as it's the least childish and least offending of the three finalist. Does anybody have the old finalist images saved somewhere to see if they changed in selection without the "In God We Trust" label on them?
Kristi Reed
5:30 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
Hi Scott,
The original designs are shown in this article:
http://dacula.patch.com/articles/vote-now-for-new-georgia-tag-design#c
Kristi Reed
5:37 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
I just added photos of the finalists. Tag ID 1 would be my pick of the three as well.
Cynthia Montgomery
8:25 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011
I appreciate that we are a peach state but what about the peanuts, mountains, shores and our famous cities, it is time to showcase some of our other valuable assets to others as we Georgians drive about the country. Love them all but so limited in their scope. I guess we will see just how important, "IN GOD WE TRUST" is when you have to pAy $1 FOR IT! Where will that $1 go? For charity organizations or for church programs???? it only seems fitting to me.
Scott
12:02 pm on Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Cynthia - Good point. There is so much to choose from that it would really be difficult to iconify for a car tag. It's probably too much to have multiple designs, but wouldn't it be fun to pick a regional tag? A mountain tag for those living in the hills, a lighthouse for those on the coast, and a gnat for those living below the gnat line <grin>.
I'm just sad that the peach has to be such a big part of the tag and that they all look elementary. I still don't see what's wrong with the current tag and the need to go through all this time and expense to make a change. I'm sure other states have had the same tags for 10-15 years and possibly even more. How long has California had that script font tag? That's as vanilla as they come. (Well, and the Louisiana tag)
California Tags: http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/plates/standardplates.htm
Cynthia Montgomery
12:46 pm on Wednesday, August 10, 2011
In a state that has higher than national unemployment, loosing federal monies, and rough times , the most important thing is to spend money on NEW tags! Another brain delay from those in power. How much money would we save if this project were put on hold or even stopped until our economy was back on firm footings? What about extending the life of our current tags for another 5 years. My tag is in good shape! I have yet to see anyones tag falling apart or rusting off their car. This is clearly a place we can sharpen our pencils. Or better yet, how about everyone get a pay freeze starting NOW and all programs take a 15% cut and all projects are suspended until we get back on track. If your household income has dropped and your income is no longer what it once was ( ie -tax revenue for the state) then it is time to put off the new purchases maybe even the vacation this year and we cut our cable and phone bill from GOT TO HAVE IT ALL to THIS WILL DO packages. But I am just one person and it take more voices than mine to make changes. I have noticed that when the citizens are in time of trial almost all government bodies; local, regional, and state will up the taxes and programs because they know the voters are too busy with making ends meet. Oh well, back to cutting my coupons for the week!!!