Updated: The RI License Plate kerfuffle – see 940 others

by Nancy Thomas, editorial

Photo: A selection of favorites from the 940, and the winning plate, lower right.

UPDATE: A Change.org petition was started by a Warren, RI woman to re-do the project to redesign the Rhode Island License Plate – go here: https://www.change.org/p/we-hate-this-license-plate-do-not-adopt-the-supposed-winning-plate-design

Only in Rhode Island could a fun, participatory event like selecting a new license plate for Rhode Island vehicles become the controversial news of the day. As much as it was about the design – it was also about the process.

6 final designs were presented a few weeks ago and the designs were open for voting to get down to one final design. The big announcement came this week when the selection (above) was made. The design, submitted by Willem Van Lancker, incorporates a tip of the hat to the much loved current “wave” plate as it runs five waves across the bottom border. The 5 waves are representative of the 5 counties in the state.

After the chosen one was revealed, the reaction was almost immediate on social media and talk radio, followed by traditional media questioning the choice, and the process.

But it wasn’t until the numbers were heard that the questioning of the process became deeper. Bill Bartholomew first asked about the numbers and revealed that over 53% of voters had voted for this one design out of 6. On morning radio, Gene Valicenti had Bud Craddock, the head of the RI DMV on air and quizzed him on the numbers.

Approximately 299,000 votes were cast in Rhode Island. 52.3% (156,477 votes) went for the 5-wave plate design. 20.4% (60,697) of the votes went for the next most popular plate design. The other four designs would get the remainder split.

Valicenti said, “Bud! It doesn’t sound right… it’s impossible… how can he get half the votes and the other 4 divvy things up?”.

Craddock did say they were concerned when they saw the statistics, and looked at the analytics and it “surprised us as well”. Craddock said they used the same contest platform that the RI Board of Elections used when they had a contest to choose the “I Voted” sticker design.

Here is the Valicenti/Craddock interview:

https://omny.fm/shows/the-news-with-gene-valicenti/04-08-22-rmv-director-walter-bud-craddock

When pressed for a clarification of the BOE statement, Paul Grimaldi, RI DMV spokesperson responded with this statement: “He may have been referring to the system that randomized the position of the plate design images when people clicked on the voting link. Shifting the positions limited the opportunity for someone to employ a bot to cast automated votes. I’ve reached out to him this morning, but have yet to hear back. I will let you know if he has anything to share.” We did not hear anything further.

Online voting wide open for misuse

Craddock has also stated that the system allowed people to vote as many times as they wish, though the plates were rotating so a bot could not consistently go in and vote for a design “in the 3rd position”, etc.

Folks at Whole Whale, an agency that helps groups run polls and contests online, tell us more about how they can go wrong (not that we’re saying this one did, right?).

From the DMV: The Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, announced the winner of the contest to design a new look for the state’s primary license plates. The Division of Motor Vehicles received 940 entries during the contest that concluded Jan. 7, 2022. DMV staff members winnowed those entries to five designs. Rhode Islanders voted for their favorite among the finalists during a two-week period that concluded March 28, 2022. DMV Administrator Walter R. “Bud Craddock and Governor McKee welcomed the contestant whose design garnered the most votes from fellow Rhode Islanders to an unveiling of the new design. Willem Van Lancker, of South Kingstown, submitted the winning design.“

With 940 submitted designs and nearly 300,000 votes cast, I want to thank each and every Rhode Islanders who took part in this process,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Over the coming months, I look forward to seeing the new design on vehicles across our state.” The DMV will begin distributing the redesigned license plates later in 2022 with the start of its registration reissuance program. The new plates will be distributed according to the DMV’s vehicle registration renewal sequence.“ Rhode Islanders have chosen a design reflective of the state’s character and the affection they have for the ‘Wave’ plate that will soon become a part of the state’s history,” said Craddock. “We’re pleased to have reached this point in our license plate reissuance program and will move forward now with the work of seeing license plates with this new design gets to vehicle owners around the state.”

For those of you with an interest, all 940 plate contest entries were made available for viewing through a link on the DMV website beginning at noon on Friday, April 8, 2022. Media sites were out and about asking people about the designs. NBC10 even went to Garden City Shopping Center to get the “(wo)man on the street” reactions.

So – take a look – what would you have preferred? The overall comment we’ve heard is that it’s not the design that is bad, but how

Drumroll, please – see all 940 designs right here:

From chickens to anchors to independent men and under-the-sea drawings, we had a lot of fun looking at the choices that were open to us.

But in all seriousness – it is a time to rethink the bigger effects contests that seem too good to be true, are probably fatally flawed and how this has a bigger, impact in creating a bit jaded populace. We complain about the Rhode Island nay-sayer, but we should also ask ourselves, ‘how did we get this way’? Memories of Cooler and Warmer…but we sure do love our license plates even more, right?

In the grand scheme of things happening in the world, it all seems a little insignificant, yet moments of joy that snappy design can bring, are spirit lifting. So much for Rhode Island’s failed attempt – we move forward not with a bang – but a whimper.

(Scroll through using the bar on the left of this – or download it)