Watch above: The licence plate poll has closed. And while there may be a clear favourite, it doesn’t automatically make it the winner. Quinn Ohler explains.
EDMONTON — Albertans have chosen a favourite new licence-plate design, but the province says the online vote isn’t the final word.
Service Alberta said about 164,500 votes were cast before the survey closed Tuesday and option No. 2 came out on top by a narrow margin:
READ MORE: Alberta planning to roll out new licence plates
But spokesperson Kathleen Range said they are still going through feedback provided by voters, which could take several weeks.
An official announcement of a new licence plate selection could come in the fall, she added.
Alberta PC leadership candidates have said they would like to revisit the issue, so that may delay the process further.
READ MORE: Alberta Tory candidates to revisit new licence plates
When the survey launched in early July, it became the most viewed Alberta government webpage ever in a single day.
The competition was criticized because the current slogan — “Wild Rose County” — was replaced by the government web address, alberta.ca.
The Wildrose party called the slogan removal a petty and politically motivated slight, which the government denies.
“We were looking at changing the slogan back in 2007 when we didn’t have an official opposition with the same name,” said Range. “We looked at replacing that slogan with the province’s official slogan, which is ‘strong and free,’ and that had a 75 per cent approval rating from Albertans that we surveyed.”
WATCH: Albertans and a marketing expert weigh in on licence plate designs
Griffiths said in July that the province’s current licence plate is more than 30 years old and needs updating.
“We’re the only juristiction in North America that still has a painted plate,” said Range. “All the rest of them have a reflective coating so law enforcement officers can see them at night.
“We’re going to go one step further and we’re going to have a technology that infrared cameras will be able to read see as well.”
Annual vehicle registration will increase by $5 to help cover the costs of the new plate when it’s rolled out.
With files from The Canadian Press
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