eSCRIBE's Vote Types are set to handle the Abstain vote differently depending on the vote type chosen.

Setting the Vote Type on any Vote to Majority (Present) will count any Abstain votes as a "No". Any other vote type will count Abstain votes as a "Neutral".

To set the default vote type to be a Majority (Present) vote, first go to Meeting Management through the eSCRIBE Portal. Select a Meeting Type you wish to update and select Update underneath the selected Meeting Type.

Expand the Meeting section and further expand the Resolution Settings section

Scroll down, and near the bottom find the option to allow voters to abstain, click the checkbox to enable this setting. Choose the default vote type as Majority (Present) if this is your default vote type. Otherwise, in a Meeting, creating a New Vote and Selecting the Majority (Present) option will count Abstained votes as a "No".

To apply this change to existing meetings, go to the meeting and through the Menu Bar, expand the Settings section and choose Sync Profile