Illinois Representatives: "Present" Votes More Than Simple "Gosh, Don't Know"

Senator Barack Obama has ducked an onslaught of political attacks, but none is more unfair than the slam that he lacks leadership because he voted "present" 129 times in the Illinois General Assembly.

Everyone from Hillary Clinton to Sarah Palin has attempted to portray Obama as some kind of weak-kneed waffler for his present votes. Even John McCain hit Obama for his present votes in the last presidential debate. However, if they had taken the time to understand the workings of the Illinois General Assembly and Senate, they'd have discovered that Obama was just following protocol.

That's because "present" doesn't mean "maybe" or "Gosh, I don't know," it's a no vote that makes a statement. Used for complex situations such as conflict of interest or bills with fatal flaws, the unusual vote is not found in most state legislatures, hence the criticism that's piled up on Obama from foes around the country.

Ill. Rep Lou Lang (D-16th dist., Skokie), assistant majority leader of the General Assembly , explained that many Illinois representatives and state senators use the present vote to avoid the signals a solid no vote might send. He acknowledges that most people, including most Illinoisians, don't know what a present vote means.

"Maybe you have a budget, and you support that budget, but there are some line items in there that you don't like," Lang said. Rather than vote no and send the wrong impression back to your constituents, "you might vote present because the bill falls short of what you expect."

"You can just abstain, but much of the time, 'present' makes a statement," Lang said. "On the record, present and no are the same thing."

Across the aisle, Rep. Bill Black (R-104th dist., Danville) agreed that the present vote is greatly misunderstood by the rest of the country. "We are one of the few states that still has it," Black said. (It's been on the books since 1931.) "I have used it, but sparingly."

He described a case of when it's appropriate: "When a veterans' rights benefits bill comes up, but attached to it is an amendment with a 10 1/2% salary increase, well there's a problem there. I'm for the veterans' benefits, but against the salary increase. I could have voted present, but in that case I just voted no. But there were several who voted present on that bill." In the end, present votes counted as no votes, anyway, so it's just up to the individual legislator how he wants his vote to appear.

Lang and Black say Obama is no different from any other legislator for using the present vote.
"I've used it," Lang said. "There are times it's appropriate and I don't feel guilty."

Black agreed. "There are times when you are in a dilemma and neither side is acceptable, as when you approve of the concept of a bill but are disgusted with the process, the way (the bill) has not gone through full committee hearings...that's when a present vote is needed," Black said.

So, if the present vote is widely accepted in Springfield, Ill., has Black explained it to national Republicans who are demonizing Obama over his voting record?

"I did, at the Republican Convention," Black said. "I talked to my candidate, Rudy Giuliani. But he's from New York and he just can't understand why we do things this way." Obviously, Giuliani didn't understand Black's message, because he went on to savage Obama at the convention saying "(Obama) nearly 130 times...couldn't make a decision. he couldn't figure out whether to vote yes or no. It was too tough. He voted...'present.' For President of the United States, it's not good enough to be present."

Black's reaction? "Politics is 'a contact sport,' " he said. Basically, if opponents are going to find something they can use, rightly or wrongly, they are going to employ it.

If anything can be learned from this tangle, Lang and Black are trying to cut down on the confusion.

"Lou and I give (advice) to incoming freshman and we tell them to use the present vote as sparingly as you can," Black said. Not only does it cut down on misunderstandings with home constituents, but it might help someday if one of them ever runs for President of the United States.

Comments

[tiajudita]

Thank you for this article. As a former Illinois resident, I have been explaining this over and over. Obama has voted present because he is so nuanced and doesn't worry about appearances on the issues. It is a sign of his thoughtfulness and intellect. I hope everyone reads this and spreads the truth.

[uniquelyme]

I live in the Chicago area and have known about this in the Illinois government for years now.

Since many or even most states don't have the 'present' vote, they don't understand it -- and obviously Palin is so uneducated about state governments that she also doesn't know. Either that or the McCain camp just has tried to play it up to capitalize on it with the people who are uninformed about it themselves.

[Rhia]

Obama's "present" votes means the bill's proponents should refine some aspects of the bill in order to get his support. It may also mean that Obama has reservations in agreeing with the bill or simply he does not really want the bill to be passed. Either the present vote may get the impression of no or yes response, Obama has used this tactic very efficiently and effectively on issues that he really wants to pursue.

[Bronxcutie]

At least he showed up to vote! McCain has been absent from the Senate more than both Barack and Joe!

[DennyCrane]

The people attacking Obama understand what "Present" means, but they're banking on people like Joe the Plumber not understanding it.

[walleymr]

It's still better to have someone who VOTES. How many times do you see members of congress more concerned with campaigning than voting for bills in front of them.

I like that he voted "present" rather than "yay" or "nay" for something he wasn't in full support of.

[MiddleRoadLiberal]

An awesome, if late, article.

[Lynn Voedisch - Huffpost Blogger]

Sorry about the lateness. Part of it was my own sloth, but the other part was that it was damn hard to pin down local politicos during election season. Only lately did they return to their home districts and that's when they called me back. There was some local (Chicago) press on this, but I've never seen any national stories on it.
I'll try to jump on things a little faster in the future.

[lljdr]

I too appreciate this explanation. In Obama's defense he did explain this back in the primaries at one point when Hillary was going after him on this issue. That being said, it didn't get much coverage and needed to be said again. Thanks.

[kristycu]

CNN actually wen to Illinois and did a special report and said the same thing back in the primaries

[Over50WhiteWoman]

In the Illinois House, over 8 years, Obama cast over 4,000 votes, and only 133 of those were 'Present' votes. Those numbers help to put this into perspective. And most journalists leave the numbers out.
Minor point, though.

[Lynn Voedisch - Huffpost Blogger]

It actually was 129 present votes, but who's counting?. :-)

[whit4brains]

Thanks for this article. I sent it to my Dad who is always talking about Obama only votes "present". I tried to explain it to him, but you did a much better job.

[BertrandRussell]

You might also include the HuffPo article (sorry, I could not find the reference) that shows Obama's "present" votes account for less than 3% of the votes he has cast.

[Lulliloo]

Thank you, Lynn Voedisch for clarifying what this "present" vote really means.
I've studied thousands of election blogs, speeches and news commentaries and tens of thousands of blog comments. Yet this is the first time I've ever seen an explanation of this "present" vote.
Why did it take until a fortnight before the election to clarify this? Why didn't the Obama camp clarify what was otherwise depicted as a scathing attack on Obama's judgment and commitment?
Amazing, truly amazing that it's only now being clarified.

[Lynn Voedisch - Huffpost Blogger]

Happy to explain it all to you. The Giuliani story did ring a little false in my ears, but that's way Black told the story. I think Rudy already had his mind made up and didn't want to confuse himself with the facts. Anyway, this might give you a little more ammo the next time some right wingnut corners you at a party and starts hammering you about Obama's "present" votes. The votes are actually fairly sophisticated, and knowing Obama, probably come from a lot of thinking about the issues. What they definitely are not are votes to hide from making a decision.

[Palemoon]

Thank you for such a good article. And most of all, a fair article. :)

[haveitoldyoulately]

JUST CHECK THE PUBLIC VOTING RECORDS:

From 2005-2008 McCain voted "NV" ( NOT VOTING) 201 times out of approx. 570

From 2005-2008 Obama voted "NV" (PRESENT) 130 times out of approx. 570

ONLY DIFFERENCE IS, MCCAIN DIDN'T VOTE 71 MORE TIMES THEN OBAMA...HM­MMM

[haveitoldyoulately]

Oh, and to Mr Black.....­.WE NY'ers GET IT, and tried to explain it to Giuliani (among other things)...­....but Rudy Giuliani doesn't get ANYTHING..­.that's why we didn't want him for a third term, as we do Mayor Mike (Bloomberg)

[binarystar]

I agree with everything you said except for Bloomberg undermining the voters of NYC because he feels we would be lost without him.

New York already has a king - the late, great Notorious B.I.G.

[klo]

I agree we didn't want Rotten Rudy back but Mayor Mike has overstepped his authority as has the city council.

And whether we might have agreed to having Mayor Mike back, as a special concession to the economic situation we are facing, may never be known since Mayor Mike might have trouble getting enough people to vote for him due to the disapproval of his high handed end run around the people of NY.

[Lynn Voedisch - Huffpost Blogger]

I know I'm supposed to be objective here, and I'm a Chicagoan not a New Yorker, but I have to share your feelings about Giuliani. He really doesn't get anything. And when he made that crack about community organizers it was like he had criticized Jesus. The newspapers were full of letters to the editors for days. People around here do not like him.

[misty1]

Thank you for your explanation. But I don't care if he voted yeah Yeah Yeah I think this
man will change thing and change is what we need. Obama/Biden 08

[llisa]

Thank you for this explanation. I am sure a lot of civilians don't know what voting "present" means. But I am just as sure that Obama's opponents know very well what it means. Just another example of politicians manipulating information to their own ends.