The gap between election and inauguration is much shorter now than it used to be, thanks to the 20th Amendment of the Constitution. That amendment – nicknamed the "Lame Duck Amendment ...

In 1933, the states ratified the 20th Amendment, or the “Lame Duck” Amendment, to shorten the time between the election and the inauguration. Claire Jerry, curator of political history at the ...

However, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1933, moved the date to January 20 to reduce the "lame-duck" period between presidents. The day typically includes the swearing-in ...