INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's new standard license plate will feature the state flag's torch and stars on a dark blue background -- a design that Hoosiers selected during a statewide vote -- officials said Friday.

The new design -- one of four offered during voting on at Bureau of Motor Vehicles branches and on the agency's Web site -- will debut in 2008.

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Survey: New Plate?
Slideshow: See Choices

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BMV officials said more than 107,000 people cast ballots. The winning design beat its closest competitor -- an option that had a lighter background image of the state's flag -- by about 2,500 votes.

The winning plate was unveiled in a ceremony in Indianapolis Friday.

"The license plate is a very visible state symbol and we are obviously pleased that so many Hoosiers opted to let their voice be heard," BMV commissioner Ron Stiver said.

The new plates will have white letters and numbers against the dark blue background. Stiver hopes public reaction is good, but acknowledged that no license plate can make every driver happy.

"I think it will be a mixed bag," he said.

The new license plates mark a change in the BMV's county designator system. The agency will eliminate the one- or two-digit code at the beginning of the plate number identifying the county where the vehicle was registered. Instead, a county designator sticker will show the county name and the traditional designator number.

The new plate will appear on about 40 percent of Hoosier vehicles. Specialty plates, such as the "In God We Trust" design, account for 60 percent of the state's plates.

The current standard design debuted in 2003.