20th Amendment
Twentieth Amendment
Ratified January 23, 1933
Verbatim
Exact text as ratified.
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.
Plain English
A translation that drops archaic words but keeps the meaning, including the parts courts still argue about.
Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President end at noon on January 20. The terms of Senators and Representatives end at noon on January 3. New officials begin their terms at the same time.
Section 2. Congress meets at least once a year, beginning at noon on January 3, unless Congress sets a different day by law.
Section 3. If a President-elect dies before taking office, the Vice President-elect becomes President. If no President has been chosen by the start of the term, or if the President-elect has not qualified, the Vice President-elect serves as Acting President until a President qualifies. Congress can pass laws for what happens if neither has qualified.
Section 4. Congress can pass laws for what happens if a candidate dies during certain stages of the presidential election process.
Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 take effect on October 15 after ratification.
Section 6. This amendment is void if not ratified within seven years.
About
The Twentieth Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933. It is sometimes called the "Lame Duck Amendment" because it shortened the period between an election and when newly elected officials take office.
Before this amendment, the federal government followed the timing established by the Continental Congress in the late 1700s: officials elected in November did not take office until March 4 of the following year. This produced four-month "lame duck" periods during which the outgoing administration and Congress remained in power despite having been voted out. The amendment moved presidential and vice-presidential transitions to January 20 and congressional transitions to January 3, reducing these gaps significantly.
The amendment also resolved several procedural questions about what happens if a President-elect dies, fails to qualify, or has not yet been chosen by the start of the term. These provisions have not yet been triggered in U.S. history.