meaning of 'voting “present”'?
Governor Palin made some appearances on Thursday, dropping in on a luncheon for fellow Republican governors, where she continued her line of attack on Mr. Obama’s experience with a reference to his record of voting “present” in the Illinois legislature.
question:meaning of 'voting “present”'
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It means,"I don't know what to think about this legislation; I don't know if I'm for it or against it".
Voting "present" gives a legislator an easy out on certain legislation. For example suppose a bill comes out that is very unpopular with the legislator's constituents. However the legislator may personally approve of the bill. The legislator can simply vote "present" and honestly tell his constituents that he did not vote for the bill even though he personally agreed with it.
It means more information (read: lobbying dollars) needed.