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I FOIA'd for Virginia's rejected vanity plates in 2018 and hoo boy
Last edited Tue Apr 30, 2019, 12:10 PM - Edit history (2)
David Fahrenthold RetweetedI’m so mad I didn’t think of this idea!
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I FOIA’d for Virginia’s rejected vanity plates in 2018 and hoo boy
Link to tweet
NEWS
Here Are All the Vanity Plates Virginia Rejected in 2018
WRITTEN BY ANDREW BEAUJON | PUBLISHED ON APRIL 29, 2019
We sent a Freedom of Information Act request for the list of plates Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles rejected in 2018, along with the reasons why. While the state didn’t provide individual reasons, it points to its guidelines, which disallow, among other things, messages that are profane, sexually explicit, violent, describe genitals, drug use, or illegal activity, or are in my favorite category, “Excretory-related.”
Still, there’s a lot that aren’t immediately apparent. Sadly, the mysteries tend to evaporate the longer you read. You learn to read backwards (“ELOHA,” “ELH22A”). You marvel at the indomitable human spirit that keeps trying to sneak a version of “deez nutz” past the bureaucrats (“DEEZNTS,” “DIZNUT,” “DZNUTS2,” “D3NUT5,” “DSZNTS,” DZNUTZS”). You wonder why anyone would want a license plate that says “DRTYVAJ.”
All proposed messages first go through software that takes into account 30,000 instances of objectionable messaging, says Brandy Brubaker, a spokesperson for the Virginia DMV. Any message deemed questionable then goes before a panel of DMV employees selected for diversity–people of different ages, backgrounds, from various parts of the state, and whenever possible, people who speak different languages. In fact, some letters seem to be red flags for Virginia. Good luck getting anything through with an “F,” a “B,” a “D,” the number 69, or “AF.”
A rejection doesn’t mean it’s over—so if Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz was the person who couldn’t get “BALZ” on his car, all is not lost—and once a rejection is issued, an applicant has the opportunity to request a hearing, Brubaker says. Still, a standard applies: The message may not be interpreted by a reasonable person to violate the state’s guidelines.
....
Virginia Denied License Pla… by on Scribd
Here Are All the Vanity Plates Virginia Rejected in 2018
WRITTEN BY ANDREW BEAUJON | PUBLISHED ON APRIL 29, 2019
We sent a Freedom of Information Act request for the list of plates Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles rejected in 2018, along with the reasons why. While the state didn’t provide individual reasons, it points to its guidelines, which disallow, among other things, messages that are profane, sexually explicit, violent, describe genitals, drug use, or illegal activity, or are in my favorite category, “Excretory-related.”
Still, there’s a lot that aren’t immediately apparent. Sadly, the mysteries tend to evaporate the longer you read. You learn to read backwards (“ELOHA,” “ELH22A”). You marvel at the indomitable human spirit that keeps trying to sneak a version of “deez nutz” past the bureaucrats (“DEEZNTS,” “DIZNUT,” “DZNUTS2,” “D3NUT5,” “DSZNTS,” DZNUTZS”). You wonder why anyone would want a license plate that says “DRTYVAJ.”
All proposed messages first go through software that takes into account 30,000 instances of objectionable messaging, says Brandy Brubaker, a spokesperson for the Virginia DMV. Any message deemed questionable then goes before a panel of DMV employees selected for diversity–people of different ages, backgrounds, from various parts of the state, and whenever possible, people who speak different languages. In fact, some letters seem to be red flags for Virginia. Good luck getting anything through with an “F,” a “B,” a “D,” the number 69, or “AF.”
A rejection doesn’t mean it’s over—so if Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz was the person who couldn’t get “BALZ” on his car, all is not lost—and once a rejection is issued, an applicant has the opportunity to request a hearing, Brubaker says. Still, a standard applies: The message may not be interpreted by a reasonable person to violate the state’s guidelines.
....
Virginia Denied License Pla… by on Scribd
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