Twentieth Amendment: "Lame Duck" Amendment; new term dates

The text

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.

Section 3.

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4.

The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Section 5.

Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6.

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

National Archives note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3.

Text: National Archives transcription.

What it means

• The President's and Vice President's terms end at noon on January 20; senators' and representatives' terms end at noon on January 3.
• Congress must meet at least once a year, beginning January 3 unless it sets another date.
• If the President-elect dies before taking office, the Vice President-elect becomes President.

Who proposed it

Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska championed it for a decade; the Senate passed his resolution several times before the House agreed in 1932.

When it was proposed and ratified

• Proposed by Congress: March 2, 1932. House March 1, Senate March 2, 1932.
• Ratified: January 23, 1933. Certified February 6, 1933. Sections 1 and 2 took effect October 15, 1933, so Franklin Roosevelt's first term ended January 20, 1937.

Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).

Why it was made

Under the old schedule, new presidents and members of Congress did not take office until March 4, and a new Congress often did not meet until December of the next year, 13 months after the election. Defeated "lame duck" officials kept making decisions for months. The long gap became dangerous in the winter of 1932–33, during the Great Depression.

Key Supreme Court cases

None of the FCLE landmark cases centers on this amendment. See all landmark cases.

FCLE tips

• January 20 = President's inauguration; January 3 = new Congress.

Related study guide sections

• Chapter 7: Amendment 20
• All 27 amendments