Texas GOP Rejects Proposed Secession Ballot Initiative
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AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Republican Party has rejected a proposed, non-binding ballot initiative that would have let its 2016 primary voters mull secession.
State Republican Executive Committee members used a voice vote during their meeting in Austin on Saturday to defeat an effort to put whether Texas should leave the United States on the March 1 ballot.
It would have read: "If the federal government continues to disregard the Constitution" and Texas sovereignty, the state "should reassert the prior status as an independent nation."
Supporters said the idea of "Texas independence" might be popular enough to bolster voter turnout without having any practical effect.
Its defeat was little surprise, but the state GOP's merely considering it attracted attention. The Texas Democratic Party released a statement saying Republicans "decided they are still Americans."
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