Republican Scott Morgan says state Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, has taken the most “pass” votes in the Senate over the past four years. But Francisco said Morgan was trying to mislead voters.

“You really should vote,” said Morgan, who faces Francisco in the Nov. 4 election for the 2nd Senate District, which includes most of Lawrence.

“Lawrence was settled by people willing to take a stand on some very tough issues. They did not say ‘pass’ when faced with adversity,” he said.

In response, Francisco said, “Instead of trying to deceive voters with inaccurate skewed information, I challenge Scott Morgan to debate the issues important to our community – funding public education, improving the health of Kansans, growing jobs, promoting energy efficiency and independence, and helping senior citizens.”

Morgan said from 2005 through 2008, Francisco voted “present and passing” 50 times. That is more than twice the 23 “pass” votes of the next state senator, and five times the average, according to Morgan.

“Surely Lawrence should not be represented in the Kansas Senate by someone winning the MVP award for Most Passed Votes,” he said.

Morgan said in those votes, Francisco has been unable to decide whether to vote “yes” or “no.” He said that has denied Lawrence from being represented.

But Francisco denied the claim. A “pass” vote is essentially a “no” vote, she said, because it takes 21 “yes” votes in the 40-member Senate to approve a bill.

Francisco said she sometimes votes “pass” specifically to raise concerns from her district. A “pass” vote, she said, indicates to others that she may be willing to negotiate for something her constituents want.

Morgan has put together a list of the bills and amendments that Francisco has voted “pass” on.

For example, Francisco voted “pass” on a resolution criticizing funeral picketing by Fred Phelps. Francisco said she strongly objects to Phelps, but she said the resolution originally stated that Kansans “embrace a Christian message of love.” Francisco said she voted “pass” because she thought the reference to Christianity excluded people of other faiths.

Francisco noted she has voted on 1,620 bills while in the Senate and is the only senator who has had a perfect attendance record over the past four years.

She has gained a reputation in the Senate as being a careful reader of bills and during the last legislative session stopped debate several times because of errors she found in bills that had to be corrected.