Ha. So the Georgia Department of Revenue has declared a do-over.
A few weeks ago, they presented 8 semifinalists for the new Georgia license plate and asked the public to vote on them.
Here are the 8 as they appeared on the DOR website. You’ll note that some have “In God We Trust” and others do not. Apparently that phrase would be an optional sticker available for a nominal fee on any of the tags, but nowhere on the widely promoted page for voting was that policy made clear. So lots of people voted — some apparently many times — purely on the basis of the inclusion or exclusion of the phrase.
I do not think “In God We Trust” should be an option no matter what. I think its inclusion violates the Constitution (although it’s far far far less problematic as an optional addition than as a mandated element). I also think car tags should have the space for the county name no matter what, for a variety of safety issues and concerns. Also, I’d like to know how angry to get when drivers don’t know how to negotiate Savannah’s squares. (Kidding. Sort of.)
From that original image, three finalists were selected:
Note that this time all three were presented with “In God We Trust”.
Governor Deal was supposed to announce the winner from among these three today, but we’ve kicked the can down the road (we’re pretty good at that in Georgia on issues large and small). The DOR will reopen the voting next week among the 8 semifinalists.