Napoleon's Refusal to Vote in a Referendum

Unlike in the last referendum, there actually doesn't seem to have been much manipulation from the central government. Napoleon had kept this whole process at arm's length. When his council of state debated the matter, bonaparte scrupulously recused himself as if it wasn't obvious who called the shots and what his wishes were. He actually left paris altogether for his country estate Malmaison to insure he was out of the picture during the election.