Texas AG says Round Rock cannot delay local election until next year

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a public letter to Round Rock, stating that local officials cannot postpone local elections that were scheduled to be held on May 2, 2020, beyond November 3, 2020.

Round Rock City Council recently voted to push back their already delayed local election to next year. Originally, the election was set for this May, but the state allowed local agencies to move their elections till November with the general election due to COVID-19.

Round Rock leaders have since announced that they will hold a special session on August 6 to discuss the date of the city's 2020 local election, according to FOX 7 Austin's Steven Sarabia.

The letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was addressed to Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan. 

“The governor’s proclamation allowed local elections that were scheduled to be held on May 2, 2020 to be moved to November 3, 2020. It was the Round Rock City Council’s decision to move its local election to November, not the governor’s. Because the law does not allow the City Council to move its election a second time in these circumstances, the city must hold its election in November, as it said it would,” said Attorney General Paxton.

“Under the Election Code enacted by our Legislature, elections must be held properly on the correct date, or the election is void. The right to vote is fundamental in nature, because it is the mechanism through which all other rights are secured. Infringing the right to vote undermines the basic concept of a republic. We must all work together to ensure that our democratic process is followed properly, freely, and fairly.”   

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Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan gave the following explanation to FOX 7 Austin about why the council wants to push back their local elections, again. “It’s a tough situation I understand the frustration from folks that don’t agree with the decision not to hold it in May but we are frustrated we couldn’t hold it in May like all of our elections,” said Mayor Morgan.

The letter from Ken Paxton is below:

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