Reply #21: I agree.WHICH of a cause's lobbyists gets your vote doesn't determine the vote's right or wrongness. [View All]

[Baconfoot]

There are political situations in which you want to abstain. For example, when your faction is on ONE side and YOU stand on another side of an issue. You might abstain then. That lets you register in some official way your disagreement with your side, while not undermining your side's agenda and alienating you from your allies.

You might abstain if you have a conflict of interest. You might abstain if you think your constituents have no stake in the Bill. (e.g. a bill honoring somebody for something or naming something)

But from a strategy standpoint, you shouldn't abstain from votes on what will be bad law, even if the bill is going to pass. "Protest abstentions" typically accomplish nothing. If you need a symbolic gesture, have your people vote no and then do a symbolic walk-out, but only if you have enough people to make the gesture worthwhile.

On Edit:
Voting present lowers the number of yeas needed for something to pass and so typically effectively helps the yeas. If your heart is truly pro-choice, you should never abstain from an anti-choice bill unless somehow you've got a conflict of interest or are a Republican.