Present

In one of the recent debates, Obama was questioned about why he had voted "present" 130 times while he was in the Illinois legislature. Hillary then jumped on him about this issue as well.

Obama explained that the rules in the Illinois legislature are different from those in Congress and that those "present" votes were a small percentage of the approximately 4000 he had cast. Still, the confines of the debate setting made it difficult for him to fully deflate the issue.

Just read an excellent explanation of the "present" vote from a former Illinois legislator. Here's an excerpt:

Unlike Congress and the legislatures of most other states, each chamber of the Illinois Legislature requires a “constitutional majority” to pass a bill. The state Senate has 59 members, so it takes 30 affirmative votes. This makes a “present” vote the same as a no. If a bill receives 29 votes, but the rest of the senators vote “present,” it fails.

In Congress, in contrast, a bill can pass in either the House or the Senate as long as more people vote for it than against it. If 10 people vote in favor and nine against, and the rest either vote “present” or don’t vote at all, the bill passes. It can actually pass with just one vote, as long as no one votes no.

In the Illinois Senate, there can be strategic reasons for voting “present” rather than simply no. A member might approve the intent of legislation, but not its scope or the way it has been drafted. A “present” vote can send a signal to a bill’s sponsors that the legislator might support an amended version. Voting “present” can also be a way to exercise fiscal restraint, without opposing the subject of the bill.