Texas Republicans are pushing for a referendum to decide whether the state should secede from the U.S., Newsweek reported.

The demand for Texans to be allowed to vote on the issue in 2023 was one of many measures adopted in the Texas GOP's party platform following last week's state convention in Houston.

Under a section titled "State Sovereignty," the platform states: "Pursuant to Article 1, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution, the federal government has impaired our right of local self-government. Therefore, federally mandated legislation that infringes upon the 10th Amendment rights of Texas should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified.

"Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto."

In another section on state governance, the platform states that Texas Republicans want the state 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."

The myth that Texas can secede from the U.S. continues because of the state's history of independence, according to The Texas Tribune. Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and spent nine years as its own nation before becoming a U.S. state. Texas then seceded from the Union in 1861 before being readmitted following the end of the Civil War in 1870.

The U.S. Constitution makes no provision for states to secede and in 1869; the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that states cannot unilaterally secede from the Union.

Still, modern secessionist efforts have continued in the state for decades—and calls to secede tend to become louder when a Democrat is a president, according to the Tribune.

It's not clear how popular the effort is among Texans, but the Texas Nationalist Movement's website claims almost half a million Texans support its work to "make Texas an independent nation again."

The movement's efforts have been promoted by Texas Republicans.

As well as the issue of a referendum, delegates also voted on more than 270 platform planks as the convention closed.

Texas Republicans also approved a resolution declaring that President Joe Biden was "not legitimately elected," signaling the continued support for former President Donald Trump's claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.