Surely it is time for our cousins to look at the date when a president of the United States is sworn in? The third week in January is often the worst period of the northern winter. Global warming at the same time has given extreme events, so one might expect heavier snowfalls in the north-eastern States, but also milder Decembers. Although the death of a president as a result of catching cold on inauguration day seems now to be an exaggeration, it cannot be pleasant for the new man or woman to be expected to stand in the open air to take the oath and then give a speech on one of the coldest days of the year.
Besides, the establishment of internet tcchnology has made the month's gap between the "meeting" of the electoral college and the swearing-in an unnecessary delay. (The gap between the national casting of votes and the election confirmation should surely remain, though, as being necessary to eliminate any challenges, as we have seen this year.) The January date itself was the result of a constitutional amendment in 1933, Congress having caught up with transcontinental rail travel and the telephone. No doubt Congress was still unsure of the significance of the Federal Highways system introduced in 1927 or of air travel which was still expensive and uncomfortable in the 1930s but even a decade later all that was to change.
It would probably be necessary to bring forward the date of the new Congress (currently January 3rd) also.
One other benefit of bringing forward the inauguration has revealed itself in the controversial way president Trump has used his powers in the dying days of his presidency, speeding up federal executions being just one example. Reducing the "lame duck" (or "cornered rat"?) period must surely be a good thing.
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