Impeachment in the United States a single vote in 1912. Several others, most recently Missouri's Eric Greitens, have resigned rather than face impeachment, when events seemed to make it inevitable. The most recent impeachment of a state governor occurred on January 14, 2009, when the Illinois House of Representatives voted 117–1 to impeach Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges; he was subsequently removed from office and barred from holding future office by the Illinois Senate on January 29. He was the eighth U.S. state governor to be removed from office. The procedure for impeachment, or removal, of local officials varies widely. For instance, in New York
2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis decision to return to the Democrats meant that the Senate was evenly divided 31–31, without a clear way to break the tie. In the case of a tie in the Senate, a casting vote, also called a tie-breaking vote, is issued by the Lieutenant Governor. The lieutenant governorship, however, had been vacant since David Paterson ascended to the governor's office upon the resignation of former Governor Eliot Spitzer. According to the State Constitution, if the Lieutenant Governor's office is vacant, the Temporary President of the Senate is to perform all of his duties, which includes making the casting vote. However,