In a letter addressed to Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan and members of City Council, Paxton said that "local officials cannot postpone local elections that were scheduled to be held on May 2, 2020 beyond November 3, 2020."
In April, council voted to delay the May 2 local election to Nov. 3, as permitted by Gov. Greg Abbott's March 18 proclamation concerning the spread of the coronavirus. Then, in July, council voted to again postpone the election—this time, to May 2021.
"The city should begin preparing to hold its election on November 3, 2020," Paxton wrote. "Should the city fail to do so, the Office of Attorney General will take appropriate action within its authority to ensure the city complies with state law."
Round Rock city leadership declined to comment immediately on Paxton's letter.
"Our legal team is reviewing it, and we'll have a comment in the coming days," Morgan told Community Impact Newspaper on July 30.
City Attorney Steve Sheets issued a memo July 21 stating that the city's charter requires the local election to be held in May. Sheets further claims that the governor cannot suspend the provisions of a local charter.
