The highly anticipated Illinois flag redesign contest results were released on Thursday morning. 

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said after the five-week voting period, a majority voted to keep the current state flag.

Voters picked from the Illinois Flag Commission's Top 10 new designs, including the current design. Among the options were the state's 1918 centennial flag and the 1968 sesquicentennial flag.  

More than 5,000 entries were submitted, and the commission narrowed the field down to just 10 options.    

According to the voting results, 43%, or over 165,000, of the votes went to the current flag. The Illinois flag received more votes than the next top five designs combined. 

The current flag features the state's seal on a white background. 

"Some may call it an SOB – a seal on a bedsheet – and the vexillological community may hate it, but people overwhelmingly prefer our current state flag," Giannoulias said. "Thank you to everyone who made their voice heard on the future of this important symbol of state pride."  

Despite this vote, lawmakers will still vote on whether to adopt a new flag, return to a previous iteration, or keep the current one.