New Kansas license plate design was so instantly hated, the governor already killed it

The people of Kansas got to see the state’s new license plate design last week, and the backlash was so strong that the governor nixed the plate and is going back to the drawing board. Initially reported by multiple Kansas-based news outlets, the outrage over the design saw many avenues of criticism.

Gov. Laura Kelly says that the current plate design, a pale blue background with navy letters, needed to go because deterioration of the plates makes it harder for law enforcement to read them. A new set of requirements were drawn up, and Kansas landed on the plate you see at the top of this post. 

The gold and dark blue colors found no favor amongst Kansans who criticized it for being too close to the black and gold used by rival University of Missouri. Dislike poured in from all over social media, calling it “hideous,” “horrible” and many other things. Now, less than a week after the plate was announced, Kelly released a statement rescinding the plate design.

“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 wrote in the statement.

Instead of just creating a new design, though, Kelly says the state will allow folks to vote for their favorite design from among multiple options. Kelly told KSN.com that the voting process will likely take place both on social media and online, so Kansans should watch out for some polls headed their way in the near future with new designs.