Posted By: Michael Sweeney
Sept. 24, 2008
First of all, to clear up almost all of the controversy, voting “Present” in the Illinois State Senate is, in effect, the same as voting “No” (with some potential signaling subtleties, as I will cover below); it is not an abstention…it is not “skipping” a challenging or heated topic. The number of “Present” votes cast does not change the number of “Yes” votes needed to pass a bill.
Despite that reality, we’ve been hearing accusations – first during the Democratic primaries, then from the GOP (most notably Rudy Giuliani at the GOP convention and Gov. Sarah Palin on the stump) – that Barack Obama’s 129 “Present” votes (out of a total of 4,000 votes) during his years in the IL Senate were some sort of “weaseling” or “avoidance” moves. But that talking-point stops here…
Like at least five other states (in at least one of their chambers), Illinois allows the “Present” vote. But, unlike in the US Congress and the legislatures of most other states, the Illinois Senate requires a ''constitutional majority'' to pass any bill.
The IL Senate has 59 members, so a bill always needs 30 “Yes” votes to pass. This is what makes a ''Present'' vote a “No” (or a “soft ‘No’,” as some think of it). If a bill receives 29 affirmative votes, but the rest of the chamber votes ''Present,'' it does not pass. (This is different than in the US Congress, where bills can pass as long as they get at least one more “Yes” vote than the total of “No” votes cast - no matter how many members vote “Present” or skip the vote.)
Next, the statistics: Yes, Obama voted “Present” 129 times…out of approximately 4,000 votes he cast during his eight-years in the IL Senate. That’s a little over 3% of his total votes there. Using the number of days the IL Senate was in session during those years, that averages out to one “Present” votes about every four days – in a period when they were averaging about eight bill votes per day.
Also, research has shown – even counting the numbers crunched by oft-unhappy lobbyists AND people engaged in opposition research against Obama – that the number of times he voted “Present” on bills was less than the average number of “Present” votes that other IL Reps and Senators cast (on a proportional basis).
Illinois lawmakers also use the “Present” vote in many varied ways, depending upon their (or their party’s) feeling on a bill, its additional baggage, or its potential impact on a Senator’s constituents.
Voting “Present” can be used to signal objections to a bill, whether it is for questions of potential constitutionally (as Obama indicated regarding some of his votes) or the inclusion of “poison pill’ amendments or even that it has been written poorly, making it difficult (or impossible) to support.
Casting a “Present” vote is also considered a subtle signal at times – perhaps to the other party’s leadership or to the bill’s sponsor. It can often indicate possible future compromise on the issue or disapproval for certain aspects of the bill, meaning that potential changes to a future version may lead to an eventual affirmative vote.
Strategically speaking, lawmakers often do it to signal potential objections to the details of a measure that they support in principle – or to a measure that is passing anyway, by a large majority.
Also, it can be used as a way to “sit out” committing a yes or no on a bill that is already headed for certain victory or defeat, but that the opposition would otherwise seek to highlight in campaigning against a candidate (especially in “swing” districts).
Additionally, a full review of the ’96-’04 legislative records shows that nearly half of Obama’s total “Present” votes came as part of a large group of Democratic Senators in apparent party-wide (or nearly so) battles over budget and spending bills when the Republicans controlled the IL Senate (this group practice curtailed after the Dems re-took control of the chamber in 2003).
So…is a “Present” vote really a “Maybe” or an abstention in the Illinois Senate? Nope.
Is it some sort of an avoidance of making a decision, as the McCain campaign continues to dump out? Not at all – it IS a choice being made, sometimes very strategically, sometimes more subtly.
Voting “Present” in the IL Senate is a nuanced move with potentially multiple meanings – and, of course, GOP repetitive point-talkers know that average voters won’t know that or look it up. But now YOU won’t have to…and now you can also knowingly call “Bullshit!” on anyone who tries to use that as a supposed negative “fact” about Obama and his legislative experience.
For more coverage of Illinois politics, look for my regular, weekly posts (usually on Wednesdays) here on The Stonecipher Report. (And, for a free subscription to my twice-weekly e-mail column on politics and pop-culture, "And, in the News…" send a note to: m_l_sweeney@hotmail.com).

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