The Republican state convention in Texas, taking place the second week of May 2016, will have more on its plate than selecting delegates to represent Texas voters at the national convention later this summer. The G.O.P. will also vote on a resolution that would put the issue of Texas secession before the people in a state-wide vote.

This will be the first time in state history that the possibility of a state-wide vote will be decided. The secessionist movement has long been led by the Texas Nationalist Movement, which states on its website that

The reasons for Texas independence are clear and simple. The people of Texas believe that Texans are best governed by Texans. We are no longer willing to be subjected to policies that we don’t want by people that we don’t elect.

They call for “an end to the failed Federal policy of unrestricted spending and limitless debt” and “a secure border and a sane immigration policy,” among other things. The TNM website has a petition for independence that some 259,000 people have signed (the Texas population is nearly 27 million) and some 22 local GOP chapters will be going to the state convention supporting independence (there are 270 chapters).

Texas was its own nation from 1836 to 1845, rebelling against Mexico in part to protect the right to own black slaves.

In 2009, a poll showed one-third of Texans believed Texas had the right to seceded, but 75% said they would vote against it. The Supreme Court ruled after the Civil War that states could not secede.

The measure is not expected to pass at the state convention.

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