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114 Reasons You Need To Vote In This Election

by Lani Seelinger

Election Day is Tuesday. I repeat — Election Day is Tuesday. On Tuesday, America will decide who it wants to follow Barack Obama as its 45th president. If you haven't voted yet, you've probably heard a lot of reasons to vote on Tuesday. However, since you might just need more convincing, there are yuge reasons why you need to get out and make your voice heard. Lots of very good reasons. The best reasons. You don't want to imagine how awful things will be if you don't go out and vote.

So: Read this list, go vote, and then pass it on to all of your friends. Election 2016 is a lot of things, but primarily it's not one that you want to sit out.

  1. You'll get the awesome "I voted" sticker.
  2. You can convince more people to vote with your awesome "I voted" sticker.
  3. You can make children jealous with your "I voted" sticker.
  4. You can request extra "I voted" stickers and then give them out to all of the children.
  5. Some states' electoral votes are determined by only hundreds of people — your vote makes a difference.
  6. In state and local elections, it's overwhelmingly obvious that your vote makes a difference.
  7. Brexit happened because people thought their votes wouldn't make a difference.
  8. The Founding Fathers would be ashamed of you not learning from Britain's mistakes if you don't vote.
  9. You can help make sure that the U.S. doesn't go back to being the stupid country.
  10. Down-ballot elections matter.
  11. The Democrats have a chance to take back the Senate.
  12. You can vote for third-party candidates at the local level, where they actually might win.
  13. You can make choices about the local level of politics, which is where it affects your life most.
  14. You can make all sorts of concrete choices in referendums and feel like you're really doing something.
  15. If you're in the right state, you could push forward the tide of marijuana legalization.
  16. If the marijuana legalization initiatives win and you voted for them, you'll be able to relax with a nice, legal joint as soon as they take effect.
  17. You'll get to bring up marijuana legalization with your parents and find out if they smoked when they were younger — or if they have a stash hidden somewhere in the house.
  18. Your parents might yell at you if you don't vote — like this mom.
  19. You can yell at other people for not voting after you vote.
  20. No one will be able to yell at you for not voting after you vote.
  21. You won't be embarrassed at your election party.
  22. You'll get to be proud of watching out for poll-watchers.
  23. If anyone bothers you at the polls, you can report it and then wear your sticker as a real badge of honor.
  24. You have the chance to vote for the first female president.
  25. This is the ultimate feminist cred.
  26. You can say that one of the cracks that brought down the glass ceiling was yours.
  27. When your children and grandchildren ask, you can say that you voted for the first female president.
  28. Hillary Clinton is actually a solid candidate, despite what the Republicans have to say.
  29. If you have a daughter, she'll grow up in a world where it's normal for women to be president — if you vote.
  30. Beyoncé and Jay-Z are voting.
  31. Tom Hanks is voting.
  32. All of the celebs in this video are voting.
  33. Joe Biden wants you to vote.
  34. Barack Obama wants you to vote.
  35. Barack Obama is your commander in chief.
  36. You have to do what Barack Obama tells you to do.
  37. Barack Obama's legacy is in danger if you don't vote.
  38. If you don't vote, Trump might get to nominate Supreme Court Justices.
  39. Trump's Supreme Court Justices could take away a woman's right to choose.
  40. They could also take away marriage equality.
  41. You definitely either are a women, have female friends, identify as LGBTQ, or have friends who identify as LGBTQ.
  42. Could you face those people — or yourself — if you didn't vote?
  43. You're definitely a member of a minority group yourself, or you have friends who are.
  44. Could you face them — or yourself — if you didn't vote?
  45. You don't think that building a wall along the border with Mexico is a good idea.
  46. You don't think that banning the entire Muslim religion from the U.S. is a good idea.
  47. You don't think that punishing women for seeking abortions is a good idea.
  48. You don't think that stop-and-frisk is a good policy.
  49. You don't think women should be forced to switch careers because of sexual harassment.
  50. You don't want to have a president who bragged about sexually assaulting women.
  51. You definitely don't want to have a president who bragged about sexually assaulting women and was dumb enough to have it caught on tape.
  52. You prefer leaders who treat the opposite sex with respect.
  53. You prefer leaders who haven't made you feel absolutely disgusting in your own skin.
  54. You prefer leaders who have never brought up their genitalia in a political forum.
  55. You prefer leaders who have some experience governing.
  56. You would prefer a president who the normal world leaders support.
  57. You would prefer a president who the crazy world leaders don't support.
  58. You do think that Black Lives Matter.
  59. You think that the U.S. should let in more refugees.
  60. You think that Obamacare is actually working out fine, and would be great with just a few improvements.
  61. You want college to be more affordable.
  62. You want someone to do something about student loan debt.
  63. You believe that wealthier people should pay higher taxes.
  64. For that matter, you'd like a president who's willing to be open about her tax history.
  65. You don't believe that the global banking conspiracy is a thing.
  66. The anti-Semitic undertones in a claim like that bother you.
  67. Overtly racist comments towards Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Muslims, African Americans, and really any other group also bother you.
  68. You're appalled that someone so overtly racist has gotten so far in a presidential election.
  69. You really don't want to have a president who's so overtly racist.
  70. You don't like seeing women blamed for their husbands' mistakes.
  71. You don't like seeing the double standard between men and women.
  72. The mansplaining at the debates made you a little sick.
  73. All of Trump's interruptions at the debates made you even sicker.
  74. You wish that Trump would just leave politics all together.
  75. You never want to have to listen to his voice again.
  76. You never want to have to see his face again.
  77. You never want to have to see his hair again.
  78. You feel a little sorry for Ivanka, and you want her to be able to salvage her career.
  79. You don't think that Melania Trump would really get much done as a First Lady.
  80. You get the hypocrisy of a man who's super anti-immigrant who has also married two immigrants.
  81. You would love to see Bill Clinton as First Dude.
  82. You really want to see what they decide to call the First Dude.
  83. You hope that it will actually First Dude, all the while conceding that it will probably be something much more boring.
  84. You already trust the Clintons' taste in White House pets.
  85. You secretly want to dress your dog up in red, white, and blue and take him to the polls.
  86. No one will judge you for bringing a patriotic dog, cat, guinea pig, or anything else to the polls.
  87. You can get your patriotic dog an "I voted" sticker at the polls.
  88. Waiting in line is a great excuse not to work or study.
  89. You can bond with the people you meet there.
  90. Maybe you could convince a Trump supporter to vote for Clinton.
  91. It's a great excuse to treat yourself to a nice lunch afterwards.
  92. You need some fresh air.
  93. You can blast Bruce Springsteen on the way there in preparation for Clinton's victory party.
  94. You wouldn't want Bruce Springsteen to find out that you didn't vote.
  95. You wouldn't want Katy Perry to find out that you didn't vote.
  96. Or George Clooney.
  97. Or Matt Damon.
  98. When you finally meet Will Ferrell, you want to be able to say that you voted.
  99. When you travel outside of the country, you want to be able to say that you voted.
  100. A Trump presidency would make leaving the country difficult and embarrassing.
  101. You would have to face a lot of questions about how you elected Trump president.
  102. You want to be able to say very forcefully that you did not vote for him.
  103. You don't want Donald Trump to become the president.
  104. You don't want Donald Trump's creepy sons anywhere near the White House.
  105. You want progress.
  106. You don't want the country to go backwards.
  107. You want to see what a woman would do in charge.
  108. You don't want to see what life would be like with an authoritarian leader.
  109. You care about climate change.
  110. You think it's a good idea to trust science.
  111. You think it's not a good idea to be anti-science.
  112. You want to vote the same way that Bill Nye the Science Guy does.
  113. You want to do something useful today.
  114. You want Hillary Clinton to become the next president.

This list is finally over — and I hope I've convinced you. There are no excuses. Go vote!