Lame Duck Amendment is a popular name for Amendment 20 to the United States Constitution. It was passed in 1933. This amendment provides that the President’s term of office begins on January 20 instead of March 4. It also provides that the terms of senators and representatives begin on January 3 following their election in November, and that a new session of Congress would open on this day. This moved the date an elected official takes office closer to the date of his or her election.
The amendment was designed to shorten the time an outgoing President and member of Congress could be a “lame duck”–that is, a public official who continues to serve with diminished power because he or she is soon to leave office.
