Last week, Edwards County—located in southwest Texas—called on the state Legislature to put a secession question on the 2023 general election ballot.
In Edwards County’s resolution, the commissioners list an abundance of grievances against the United States federal government “including the national debt, usurpation of states’ rights, restrictions on private industry, curbs on the Second Amendment, and failures to enforce immigration laws, among others.”
They explain that these grievances are more than enough reason for Texas to secede from the United States and reform its government to their liking, since the United States fails to take responsibility and fix its government.
The resolution was signed by Commissioners Marty Graham, Lee Sweeten, and Kenneth Reed, as well as Edwards County Judge Souli Asa Shanklin.
The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) announced support for the resolution, calling it a “responsible step” and mentioning that they believe that Edwards County is the first county to pass such a resolution, but they doubt it will be the last.
“Pressure is mounting on legislators and statewide elected officials to, at a minimum, put the TEXIT question on the ballot,” said TNM President Daniel Miller.
Earlier this year, the Republican Party of Texas released its party platform following the party’s convention, where delegates voted to approve the plank regarding Texas’s secession from the U.S. Plank 225 states:
“We urge the Texas Legislature to pass a bill in its next session requiring a referendum in the 2023 General Election for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”
That plank was approved by approximately 80 percent of the party’s delegates.
Last year, State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg) authored HB 1359, the Texas Independence Referendum Act. Biedermann’s goal in doing so was to allow citizens to vote on whether such a plan should be considered to allow Texas to “reassert its status as an independent nation.”
However, the bill did not receive a hearing or a vote.
Biedermann did not run for re-election this year; therefore, it is unknown if another lawmaker will author another Texas independence bill for this upcoming session.
The 88th Legislative Session will begin on January 10, 2023.
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