JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri voters are a step closer to getting to choose whether to make it tougher to impeach a governor.

On two 25-8 votes, the Senate approved a package of legislation Thursday that would set up a statewide vote in 2020, asking whether some of the current grounds for impeaching top elected officials should be removed.

The change has been a longtime goal of Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar.

Critics say deleting “misconduct” and “moral turpitude” from the language would have made it harder to impeach and remove former Gov. Eric Greitens last year based on allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations that occurred before he took office in 2017.

If changed, impeachment efforts beginning in 2021 would be limited to “corruption or crime in office.”