Voters select new license plate
Published March 9, 2007
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., won the Senatorial election with 49.6 percent of the vote in November. The stem-cell research initiative passed with 51.2 percent of the vote. But with 56.2 percent, Missouri's new license plate is the overwhelming choice in its three-way race.
The new plate, which features blue text, an outline of the state and a bluebird, received 145,121 of more than 258,000 votes. The next option, "Reflection," received 58,949 votes and 22.8 percent of the vote, and the third-place option, "Ribbon," received 54,014 votes and 20.9 percent.
According to the Missouri Department of Revenue Web site, the Web site averaged more than 10,000 votes per day for the new "Bluebird" plate. The voting was open Feb. 9-March 5.
State law requires the Department of Revenue to begin issuing new license plates on Jan. 1, 2009. According to its Web site, the reasons for changing the plates are "to improve the plate's visibility, to reduce tab theft and to ensure collection of state and local sales taxes and local property taxes."
The new plates will include a larger tab to prove tax payment, and the tabs will include more security features to prevent theft, the Web site states.
State law requires the state's license plates to be produced by the Missouri Vocational Enterprises division of the Missouri Department of Corrections. The current license plate design has been used since 1996.
The plate designs were chosen by the License Plate Advisory Committee, which included various officials in the Missouri House of Representatives, the Missouri Senate, the Department of Revenue, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Department of Corrections, according to a Department of Revenue news release.
"This was truly a fun experience," Department of Revenue Director Trish Vincent stated in the release. "It was wonderful to be part of the advisory committee that designed the plates, and for the first time, through technology, to let Missourians have the final say through an Internet vote."