On 5/1/07, Kelly Martin kelly.lynn.martin@gmail.com wrote:
Under US parliamentary law, an "abstension" is a deliberate refusal to vote: it means that the member is present in the chamber but actively refused to cast a vote in the ballot. Merely failing to vote due to being absent or unavailable is not an abstension. There is a significant distinction, and your use of the incorrect term may have confused some readers in the thread.
The UK english commons use is somewhat different however which is why Frank Maguire was said to have abstained in person. So using the word "abstain" to mean "abstain in person" would risk confusing UK readers.
Really there is no ideal wording.