New Tag Design to be Voted on Again

Beginning Monday, Georgia residents will have another chance to vote for a new license plate design.

This past Thursday, the Georgia Department of Revenue revealed the three plate designs that received the most votes during an 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.

According to a Department of Revenue spokesperson, the "In God We Trust" decal is an optional purchase. Citizens electing to use the "In God We Trust" decal would pay an additional dollar and display it in lieu of the county name which is currently placed across the bottom of each tag.

Gov. Nathan Deal was set to reveal the winning design on Friday, however, after a public outcry regarding the "In God We Trust" motto, Deal has elected to reopen the online voting. The Georgia Department of Revenue confirms that beginning Monday, Georgians will once again get to choose from the orginal eight plate designs–this time without "In God We Trust" displayed across the bottom of any of the entries.

"We’re reopening the voting for three weeks so that everyone knows what they are voting on," wrote Deal spokesman Brian Robinson in an emailed response to questions. "There will be no stickers on the tags when voting reopens on Monday."

Rosie Adams was at a South Cobb Drive bus stop on Saturday afternoon when she was asked about the voting for the new license plate design. “Obviously I don’t have a car, but I can understand that it would upset people that don’t believe in God,'' she said. "But I do, and if I had a car, I’d put the sticker on it. I want to praise the Lord all I can! But I see why they need to vote on it again.’’

More than 500 entries were submitted by the public. A panel of Georgia college and university art professors chose eight of the designs to be featured in the online voting contest.

The new license plate design will go into production in 2012.