ALBANY —A potential license plate replacement requirement was tucked into Monday's announcement from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that New Yorkers can vote on the state's next plate design.

Online voting on the five options runs through Sept. 2 and the new plates will be available in April, at which time anyone with plates older than 10 years will be required to pay for replacements when they renew their vehicle registration.

The plates will come with a $25 fee — on top of the registration renewal cost — and there will be an additional $20 fee to keep the same plate number.

"License plates are a symbol of who we are as a state and New Yorkers should have a voice and a vote in its final design," Cuomo said in a statement. "As the life span of the old plates comes to an end and we develop new ones that are as easy to read as possible, I encourage all residents to take part in choosing this piece of our state's history ..."

The new plates will replace the traditional blue and white plates, which are no longer issued, and also the gold plates that debuted in April 2010. More than 3 million vehicles in the state have plates that are at least 10 years old, according to the release.

E.J. McMahon, research director for the fiscally conservative Empire Center for Public Policy, characterized the mandated replacement of license plates as a "stealth" way for the state to raise millions of dollars in revenue.

"This is a revenue enhancer wrapped in a public relations ploy," McMahon said.

Nearly 10 years ago, then-Gov. David Paterson tried to require New Yorkers to adopt the new gold plates as a way to raise $129 million for the cash-strapped state, but he was forced to abandon the plan following legislative push back. Plates are produced by state inmates whose earning tops out at $1.14 per hour.

The mandatory replacement measure will not require legislative approval.

The release from the governor's office maintains that many older plates are difficult or impossible to read as the result of damage, oxidation and peeling. Clearly legible plates will be increasingly important as license plate readers become more heavily used for red-light cameras and cashless tolling systems.

Motorists can be cited for an illegible license plate, although free replacements have been available in some circumstances, such as peeling.

David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87