Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

Context:

Out of the 300 members of Parliament, 199 voted yes, 74 voted no, 5 voted present while 22 were absent.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/w...istic-in-anti-austerity-protests.html?_r=1&hp

Re: Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

No, it means they voted "I am here" when asked a yes/no question.

Re: Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

SoothingDave said:

No, it means they voted "I am here" when asked a yes/no question.

Click to expand...

I've never heard of that. That's obviously an abstention. Is that the normal way to abstain? I suppose it has some profound historical significance.

Re: Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

It's usually used when a politician doesn't want to be "on the record" for opponents to use his vote against him. A form of cowardice, in other words.

See this article on the practice in Illinois:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18348437

Re: Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

SoothingDave said:

It's usually used when a politician doesn't want to be "on the record" for opponents to use his vote against him. A form of cowardice, in other words.

See this article on the practice in Illinois:

Examining Obama's 'Present' Votes in Illinois : NPR

Click to expand...

Cool stuff.
Thank you.

Re: Does "voted present" mean "voted that the present law be maintained"?

Raymott said:

I've never heard of that. That's obviously an abstention. Is that the normal way to abstain? I suppose it has some profound historical significance.

Click to expand...

New to me too.