Gubernatorial impeachment procedures

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Term limits - lieutenant governors

Term limits - secretaries of state

Impeachment is the process whereby an elected official, such as a governor, is charged with, and tried for, crimes or misconduct committed in the course of office. Consequences resulting from conviction are generally limited to removal from office and prohibition against holding office in the future.

In most states, the process is similar to that used for impeachments of presidents at the federal level. If the lower chamber of a state legislature votes in favor of impeachment (i.e., votes to formally charge the governor with an impeachable offense), then the upper chamber functions as a court of impeachment and votes on whether to convict the governor. Oregon was the final state to provide gubernatorial impeachment powers to the state legislature when its voters passed Measure 115 in November 2024.

There are some exceptions. In Alaska, the upper chamber votes to impeach and the lower chamber functions as the court of impeachment. In Missouri, impeachments are tried by a panel of seven judges selected by the Missouri State Senate, with a vote from five of the seven judges required to convict. In Nebraska, if the unicameral legislature votes in favor of impeachment, the governor is tried by the Nebraska Supreme Court. Finally, in Oklahoma, an impeached governor is tried before both chambers of the state legislature sitting in joint session.

Grounds for impeachment of governors

The table below summarizes the grounds upon which governors can be impeached in each of the states. Constitutional and statutory citations are provided parenthetically.

Constitutional and statutory grounds for impeaching governors
State	Constitutional provisions	Statutory provisions
Alabama	Willful neglect of duty; corruption in office; incompetency; intemperance (intoxicating liquors or narcotics); offense of moral turpitude while in office (Ala. Code, Const. Art. VII, § 173).
Alaska	No grounds listed, but a motion for impeachment must list fully the basis for the proceeding (Alaska Stat. Const. Art. II, § 20).
Arizona	High crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. 8 Pt. 2 § 2).	High crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann., § 38-311).
Arkansas	High crimes and misdemeanors and gross misconduct in office (Ark. Code Ann., Const. Art. 15, § 1).	(Ark. Code Ann., § 21-12-201 et seq.).
California	Misconduct in office (Cal. Code, Const. Art. IV, § 18(b)).	Misconduct in office (Cal. Gov. Code § 3020 et seq.).
Colorado	High crimes or misdemeanors or malfeasance in office (Colo. Rev. Stat., Const. Art. XIII).
Connecticut	No grounds listed (Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. IX).
Delaware	Treason, bribery, or any high crime or misdemeanor in office (Del. Code Ann., Const. Art. VI).
Florida	Misdemeanor in office (Fla. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. 3 § 17).	A public officer who violates the state code of ethics is subject to a range of punishments, including impeachment, suspension, reprimand, salary reduction, and a civil penalty (Fla. Stat. Ann. § 112.317(1)(a)). A public officer who knowingly violates the law on inspecting, examining, and duplicating public records is subject to impeachment and other penalties (Fla. Stat. Ann. § 119.02).
Georgia	No grounds listed (Ga. Code Ann., Const. Art. 3, § 7).
Hawaii	“For causes that may be provided by law” (Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. III § 19).
Idaho	No grounds listed (Idaho Code, Const. Art. V §§ 3 & 4).	(Idaho Code §§ 19-4013 to 19-4016).
Illinois	Legislative investigations conducted to determine cause for impeachment (Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. IV § 14).
Indiana	Crime, incapacity, or negligence (Ind. Code Ann., Const. Art. 6, §§ 7 & 8).	Misdemeanor in office (Ind. Code Ann., § 5-8-1-1 et seq.).
Iowa	Misdemeanor or malfeasance in office (Iowa Code Ann., Const. Art. III §§ 20 & 20).	Misdemeanor or malfeasance in office (Iowa Code Ann., § 68.1 et seq.).
Kansas	Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors (Kan. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. II §§ 27 & 28).	Misdemeanor in office (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 37-101 et seq.).
Kentucky	Misdemeanor in office (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann., Const. § 68).
Louisiana	Felony, malfeasance, or gross misconduct while in such office (La. Rev. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. X § 24).
Maine	Misdemeanor in office (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. IX § 5).
Maryland	No grounds listed (Md. Code Ann., Const. Art. II § 7; Art. III § 26).
Massachusetts	Misconduct or maladministration in office (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann., Const. Pt. 2, C.1, § 2, Art. VIII § Pt. 2, C.1, § 3, Art. 6).
Michigan	Corrupt conduct in office or crimes or misdemeanors (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann., Const. Art. XI, § 1 XI (7)).	Corrupt conduct in office or crimes or misdemeanors (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann., §§ 6.1 to 6.16).
Minnesota	Corrupt conduct in office or crimes or misdemeanors (Minn. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. VIII).
Mississippi	Treason, bribery, or any high crime or misdemeanor in office (Miss. Code Ann., Const. Art. IV §§ 49 to 52).
Missouri	Crimes, misconduct, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense of moral turpitude or oppression in office (Mo. Rev. Stat., Const. Art. VII, §§ 1 to 3).	Crimes, misconduct, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense of moral turpitude or oppression in office (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 106.020 et seq.).
Montana	Legislature must determine causes, manner, and procedure for impeachment (Mont. Code Ann., Const. Art. V, § 13).	(Mont. Code Ann. § 5-5-401 et seq.).
Nebraska	Misdemeanor in office. Alleged acts or omissions must be stated in impeachment resolution (Neb. Rev. Stat., Const. Art III, § 17, Art. IV § 5).	(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-101 et seq.).
Nevada	Misdemeanor or malfeasance in office (Nev. Rev. Stat., Const. Art VII, § 2).	(Nev. Rev. Stat. § 283.140 et seq.).
New Hampshire	Bribery, corruption, malpractice, or maladministration in office (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann., Const. Pt. 2, Art. 17 & Art. 38 et seq.).
New Jersey	Misdemeanor while in office (N.J. Stat. Ann., Art. VII, § 3).	(N.J. Stat. Ann. § 52:13A-1 et seq.).
New Mexico	Crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office (N.M. Stat. Ann., Art. 4, §§ 35 & 36).
New York	No grounds listed (N.Y. Const. Art. 5, § 4 and Art. 6 § 24).	(N.Y. Jud. Law § 415 et seq.).
North Carolina	No grounds listed (N.C. Gen. Stat., Art. 3 § 3, Art. 4 § 4).	Commission of a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, malfeasance in office, or willful neglect of duty (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 123-1 to 123-13).
North Dakota	Habitual drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office (N.D. Cent. Code, Art. 11, §§ 8 to 15).	Habitual drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor (N.D. Cent. Code § 44-09-01 et seq.).
Ohio	Misdemeanor in office (Ohio Rev. Code Ann., Art. 2 §§ 23 and 24).
Oklahoma	Willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude while in office (Okla. Stat., Art. 8, § 1).	Willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude while in office (Okla. Stat. Ch. 2 § 51 et seq.).
Oregon	Malfeasance or corrupt conduct in office, willful neglect of statutory or constitutional duty or other felony or high crime (Or. Const. Art. 4 § 34).
Pennsylvania	Misbehavior in office (Pa. Cons. Stat., Art. 6 § 4 et seq.).
Rhode Island	Commission of a felony or crime of moral turpitude, misfeasance, or malfeasance in office or found incapacitated (R.I. Gen. Laws, Art. 11 § 1 et seq.).	(R.I. Gen. Laws § 22-6-2.2).
South Carolina	Serious crimes or serious misconduct in office (S.C. Code Ann., Const. Art. 15).
South Dakota	Drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office (S.D. Cod. Laws, Const. Art. XVI).
Tennessee	Commission of crime in official capacity requiring disqualification (Tenn. Code Ann., Const. Art. V).	Commission of crime in official capacity requiring disqualification (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 8-46-101 to 8-46-205).
Texas	No grounds listed (Tex. Code Ann. Const. Art. 15, §§ 1 to 7).	(Tex. Government Code Ann. §§ 665.001 to 665.028).
Utah	High crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office (Utah Code Ann., Const. Art. VI, §§ 17 to 21).	High crimes and misdemeanors or malfeasance in office (Utah Code Ann. 1953 §§ 77-5-1 to 77-5-12).
Vermont	No grounds listed (Vt. Stat. Ann. Const. Ch. II §§ 57 & 58).
Virginia	Offending against the Commonwealth by malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor (Va. Code Ann. Const. Art IV, § 17).
Washington	High crimes or misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office (Wash. Rev. Code Ann., Const. Art. V).	(Wash. Rev. Code Ann., § 42.04.040).
West Virginia	Maladministration, corruption, incompetency, gross immorality, neglect of duty, or any high crime or misdemeanor (W. Va. Code Ann., Const. Art. 7 § 9).	Maladministration, corruption, incompetency, gross immorality, neglect of duty, or any high crime or misdemeanor (W. Va. Code Ann. § 6-6-3).
Wisconsin	Corrupt conduct in office, crimes and misdemeanors (Wis. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. 7 § 1).	(Wis. Stat. Ann., §§ 750.01 & 750.02).
Wyoming	High crimes and misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office (Wyo. Stat. Ann., Const. Art. 3, §§ 17 & 18).	(Wyo. Stat. Ann., § 9-1-214).

Historic impeachments of governors

In the history of the United States, there are sixteen cases of a vote being carried out to impeach a governor. Of those, nine led to the impeached governor's removal from office. The National Conference of State Legislatures has suggested two potential reasons for the relative infrequency of gubernatorial impeachments: the perception that impeachment is a drastic measure and the likelihood of officers resigning before they can be impeached.

Historical gubernatorial impeachments
Governor	Partisan affiliation of governor	State	Year	Outcome
Charles Robinson	Republican	Kansas	1862	Acquitted.
Harrison Reed	Republican	Florida	1868	Convicted and removed from office; conviction subsequently overturned by Florida Supreme Court.
William Holden	Republican	North Carolina	1870-1871	Convicted on six of eight charges; removed from office and barred from holding public office again in the state.
Powell Clayton	Republican	Arkansas	1871	Charges withdrawn.
David Butler	Republican	Nebraska	1871	Convicted and removed from office.
Harrison Reed	Republican	Florida	1872	Left the state capitol after impeachment; legislature adjourned without voting on conviction; governor returned to office by the Florida Supreme Court.
Henry Warmoth	Republican	Louisiana	1872	Impeachment proceedings not completed before conclusion of term in office.
William Kellogg	Republican	Louisiana	1876	Charges withdrawn.
Adlebert Ames	Republican	Mississippi	1876	Resigned before the completion of impeachment proceedings.
William Sulzer	Democratic	New York	1913	Convicted and removed from office.
James Ferguson	Democratic	Texas	1917	Resigned before the completion of impeachment proceedings. The Senate voted for his removal despite his resignation.
John Walton	Democratic	Oklahoma	1923	Convicted and removed from office.
Henry Johnston	Democratic	Oklahoma	1929	Convicted on one of 11 charges and removed from office.
Huey Long	Democratic	Louisiana	1929	Impeachment trial cancelled owing to lack of support among state senators.
Evan Mecham	Republican	Arizona	1988	Convicted and removed from office; later acquitted of all charges during criminal proceedings.
Rod Blagojevich	Democratic	Illinois	2009	Convicted and removed from office.

See also

• Impeachment of federal officials
• Impeachment of federal judges

External links

• National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers—Impeachment," accessed November 3, 2017
• Connecticut Office of Legislative Research, "Constitutional and Statutory Impeachment Provisions in 50 States," February 2, 2004