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Twentieth
Amendment
Proposed
on March 2, 1932. Ratified on January 23, 1933.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
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.
Sect.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on
the 15th day of October following the
ratification of this article.
Sect.
6. This article shall be inoperative
unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by
three-fourths of the several States within
seven years from the date of its
submission.
Order
of State Ratification
| Virginia |
Mar
4, 1932 |
New
York |
Mar
11, 1932 |
| Mississippi |
Mar
16, 1932 |
Arkansas |
Mar
17, 1932 |
| Kentucky |
Mar
17, 1932 |
New
Jersey |
Mar
21, 1932 |
| South
Carolina |
Mar
25, 1932 |
Michigan |
Mar
31, 1932 |
| Maine |
Apr
1, 1932 |
Rhode
Island |
Apr
14, 1932 |
| Illinois |
Apr
21, 1932 |
Louisiana |
Jun
22, 1932 |
| West
Virginia |
Jul
30, 1932 |
Pennsylvania |
Aug
11, 1932 |
| Indiana |
Aug
15, 1932 |
Texas |
Sep
7, 1932 |
| Alabama |
Sep
13, 1932 |
California |
Jan
4, 1933 |
| North
Carolina |
Jan
5, 1933 |
North
Dakota |
Jan
9, 1933 |
| Minnesota |
Jan
12, 1933 |
Arizona |
Jan
13, 1933 |
| Montana |
Jan
13, 1933 |
Nebraska |
Jan
13, 1933 |
| Oklahoma |
Jan
13, 1933 |
Kansas |
Jan
16, 1933 |
| Oregon |
Jan
16, 1933 |
Delaware |
Jan
19, 1933 |
| Washington |
Jan
19, 1933 |
Wyoming |
Jan
19, 1933 |
| Iowa |
Jan
20, 1933 |
South
Dakota |
Jan
20, 1933 |
| Tennessee |
Jan
20, 1933 |
Idaho |
Jan
21, 1933 |
| New
Mexico |
Jan
21, 1933 |
Georgia |
Jan
23, 1933 |
| Missouri |
Jan
23, 1933 |
Ohio |
Jan
23, 1933 |
| Utah |
Jan
23, 1933 |
Massachusetts |
Jan
24, 1933 |
| Wisconsin |
Jan
24, 1933 |
Colorado |
Jan
24, 1933 |
| Nevada |
Jan
26, 1933 |
Connecticut |
Jan
27, 1933 |
| New
Hampshire |
Jan
31, 1933 |
Vermont |
Feb
2, 1933 |
| Maryland |
Mar
24, 1933 |
Florida |
Apr
26, 1933 |
| Denotes
last state required for ratification. |
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References
and Articles |
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Can
a Lame Duck Congress Impeach President Clinton?
Notes
on the Amendments
Analysis
of the 20th Amendment
Transcript:
Statement by Professor Bruce Ackerman
Capitol
Questions
Anthony
Lewis: "A Terrible Precedent"
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