Our Final 284 Reasons to Vote

Why Vote? Reasons 1,281 - 1,565Rob Reiner, Natalie Portman, and even Oscar the Grouch have their reasons for voting. Maybe you agree with them. Maybe you have your own. Hopefully, you're not still looking for one. (We've already given you 1,280!) But, just in case, here's our last batch of reasons to push the button, pull the lever, check the box, cast the ballot, mail the envelope, or whatever you have to do.

\n 1281. Because it's a slightly more important vote than the next American Idol by POST TYPOGRAPHY\n

\n Rob Reinerfilm director\n

1284. The next president will name 3,000 or so political appointees, who will inspire or frustrate, lead or mislead hundreds of thousands of government employees. And if Karl Rove, L. Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, Michael Brown, Monica Goodling, Alberto Gonzales, and all the other political appointees who have been recently fired have taught us anything, it's that it matters who's in charge of H.R.

\n \n"Polar bears are endangered!" Natalie Portman, actress and director

\n \n \n Andrew Arulanandam\nNational Rifle Association's Director of Public Affairs1286. Freedom matters. It is vital for citizens to exercise their right to vote because their elected officials at the local, state, and federal level will have a say on how much freedom people have.

1287. You live in another country and you haven't real-mailed anything in a while.1288. McCain says he doesn't know how to use a computer. This might be problematic. But you know who else couldn't use a computer? George Washington.1289. The Greeks did it. The Greeks were amazing. We should do whatever the Greeks did.

1290. To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, a butterfly flaps its wings, setting off a tornado halfway around the world.1291. You're going to have to read about whomever wins for the next four years.

1292. Be honest-you're not doing anything else that day.

1293. You've placed a bet on who will win.1294. You could get hit by a car in 2009, survive, not have health insurance, and not be able to afford to pay the bills on your own.1295. "A man without a vote is a man without protection." -Lyndon B. Johnson1296. The other guy scares you.1297-1516. You like tradition; this one has been around for 220 years.1517. You want to be part of the majority.1518. You've already registered. That's at least half the battle.1519. There's always a chance the empire will strike back.1520. Not voting is the adult equivalent of not dancing at your middle-school dance-which is lame.

1521. The previously irrelevant town of Obama, Japan (population 32,000), wants to maintain it's high Google ranking and booming tourist trade.

1522. It feels good.

1523. When you were a kid, going into the booth with your parents felt pretty grown-up and pretty awesome. And it still does.1524-1537. The average white man born in 1936 had a life expectancy of 58 years. McCain is 72.

\n \n1538-1541. John F. Kennedy was 43 when he became the youngest elected president in U.S. history. Obama is only four years older.\n

1542. Your kids can't.1543. It's free nationwide performance art. Like good theater, it's a little bit absurd, a little bit tragic, and it doesn't work if you don't play your part.1544. "Not because it's cool, because it's not. You know what is cool? Smoking. Smoke while you vote."-Jon Stewart1545. Earlier this year, the Canadian dollar was worth more than ours.\n\n\n

\n Nadine Strossen President of the ACLU1546. We're one vote away from losing the constitutional right to abortion on this Supreme Court. The next president is almost certainly going to have the power to appoint at least one supreme court justice, if not more. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said that the government is the most powerful teacher, and it teaches by the example that it sets. We want a government that is going to inspire us to the best that we can be as individuals, and that will inspire other countries' officials around the world to be the best that they can be as leaders.

\n \n \n \n Anthony West \nage 40Felons'-rights activist and program director of Virginia Cares.Will first vote in November, after regaining his right following a felony conviction.I went into the prison system when I was 24, for drug distribution. As a young African-American man from the ghetto, I didn't think about voting. Voting wasn't something that people like me did. When I came home, though, I realized that my vote could make a difference. I live in Virginia, and we're one of 13 states where once you've been released, you have to wait a period of time before you can get your rights back.At one time, violent offenders, such as myself, had to wait seven years before they'd be eligible, and that's after they've come off parole and paid the fines they've accumulated in the court system-tens of thousands of dollars that some people never pay off in their lifetimes. I applied for my rights, and man, when I got them back, on March 5, 2008, I felt like a citizen again. At 24, voting didn't mean diddly-squat, but I'm 40 now, and it means something to me. I will definitely be voting in November, for the first time in my life.

1548. As of September 14, 4,721 soliders had given their lives for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan. They will never vote again. You should.

1549. Guantánamo.

1550. You like pulling a lever, and you happen to live in New York, the only state where they still use mechanical voting devices that resemble slot machines.1551. Republican operative Allen Raymond spent three months in prison after illegally jamming Democratic phone lines during the 2002 New Hampshire senate race.1552. You get to see the inside of some municipal facility you'd never otherwise visit.1553. Centuries of European colonial genocide and white-washed American history shouldn't be for naught.

1554. The United States has scared the crap out of the world, and with a major change, we just might be able to rectify the damage done to our reputation and standing in world affairs.1555. WWJD (What Would Jefferson Do?)

\n 1556. by Stephen Doyle

1557. More than 200 national wildlife refuges exist without any on-site staff at all. The Obama campaign promises to beef up conservation efforts in general, so does McCain. But neither candidate has satisfied parks advocates.

1558. Obama has praised community-supported agriculture and promised to implement federal policy to promote small-scale, locally supported farms. He also calls for a funding boost to support small farms' organic certification. McCain's agri-policies don't explicitly repeat the local-sustainable mantra.

\n "Vote for the things you believe in-like trash, the freedom to stink, and the unalienable right to annoy people."Oscar the Grouch\n

1559. The seemingly important choices you make on other days in November-should I have more turkey?-are pretty trite by comparison.1560. It's arguably easier than recycling, and you get just as much credit for it.1561. It separates us from the great apes. Even monkeys have opposable thumbs.1562. King George III was an asshole.

1563. It's not over till it's over.

1565. By SPOTCOWhy Vote? Click here for all 1,565 reasons.