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 provides that the "temporary president of the senate shall perform all the duties of lieutenant governor" in the absence of a lieutenant governor, and that the Speaker of the State Assembly is then next-in-line of succession to the governor's office in case of a vacancy of the temporary presidency of the Senate. However, State Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris formed an interpretation of the Public Officers Laws that would allow Paterson to fill the vacancy by appointment. This interpretation was supported by an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. It is also