Like in 326, the elections for 320 were subject to trouble. In 321, the two consuls were trapped in a Samnite ambush and forced to pass under the yoke, a famous event known as the disaster of the Caudine Forks. They shut themselves in their home once they returned to Rome, and only appointed a dictator for holding the elections. However, the dictator Quintus Fabius Ambustus (perhaps the uncle of Fabius Rullianus) was forced to resign after a fault was found during his appointement; his successor Marcus Aemilius Papus likewise resigned. This led the consuls to in turn abdicate; possibly followed by all the other magistrates. The elections were then held immediately, without waiting until the end of the consular year. Two interreges are mentioned, Fabius Rullianus, then Marcus Valerius Corvus, who successfully presided over the elections. Following the early abdication of the consuls, the consular year started for some years in late autumn or early winter.