The Twentieth Amendment

When elected officials take office

Moved the start of presidential and congressional terms earlier, shortening the “lame duck” period after an election.

Ratified 1933 · 3 minute read

Published by Quasi-Legal Institute · Report an error

U.S. Const. amend. XX, §§ 1–2 (excerpt)Select a highlighted phrase

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. …

In plain language

Inauguration Day

A new President takes office at noon on January 20. Before this amendment, the date was March 4. The change took effect for the term beginning in 1937.

The lame duck problem

Before the amendment, officials who lost an election stayed in office until March 4 of the following year, four months after the vote. A Congress that voters had just rejected could pass laws during that time. A defeated President was also left in charge of the government as problems like the Great Depression got worse.

A “lame duck” is an officeholder who is leaving. The Twentieth Amendment cut down the time between an election and a change of power, though some lame-duck sessions of Congress still happen in November and December.

What the other sections cover

Section 3 says that if the President-elect dies before taking office, the Vice President-elect becomes President. If no President has been chosen by January 20, or the President-elect has not qualified, the Vice President-elect acts as President until one qualifies.

Section 4 lets Congress decide what happens if a candidate dies while an election is being decided by the House or Senate. Section 5 set the date on which Sections 1 and 2 took effect, and Section 6 set a seven-year deadline for ratification.