"Election regulators named Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the winner of Egypt's first competitive presidential elections, handing the Islamist group a symbolic triumph and a new weapon in its struggle for power with the ruling military council," the New York Times reports.

"But Mr. Morsi's recognition as president does little to resolve the larger standoff between the generals and the Brotherhood over the balance of power over the institutions of government and the future constitution."

On June 24, the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee approved a resolution that puts the party on record in favor of changing Alabama election laws to ask voters to choose a party on voter registration forms. The resolution was approved on a voice vote, and it was not unanimous, but there is no recorded vote.

Alabama, like most states in the South, has never had registration by party.

On Sunday, June 24, Egypt released official election returns for the recent presidential election. Dr. Mohammed Morsi, nominee of the Muslim Brotherhood, won the run-off with approximately 13,200,000 votes, defeating his opponent Ahmed Shafiq, who garnered approximately 12,300,000.

The June 24 New York Times has a Sunday Symposium with many letters to the editor all discussing the Electoral College and the National Popular Vote Plan. See here.

The New York Times reports the Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care law may not come on Monday as many have assumed.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds most Americans oppose President Obama's healthcare law, 56% to 44%, even though they strongly support most of its provisions.

"A glaring exception to the popular provisions is the 'individual mandate,' which forces all U.S. residents to own health insurance. Sixty-one percent of Americans are against the mandate, the issue at the center of the Republicans' contention that the law is unconstitutional, while 39% favor it."

Said pollster Chris Jackson: "That's really the thing that has come to define the (reform) and is the thing that could potentially allow the Supreme Court to dismantle it if they decide it's not constitutional."

"One-hundred-thirty members of Congress or their families have traded stocks collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars in companies lobbying on bills that came before their committees, a practice that is permitted under current ethics rules," a Washington Post analysis has found.

"Almost one in every eight trades -- 5,531 -- intersected with legislation. The 130 lawmakers traded stocks or bonds in companies as bills passed through their committees or while Congress was still considering the legislation. The party affiliation of the lawmakers was almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, 68 to 62."

A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds one-quarter of American voters are still persuadable on who they'll vote for in the presidential election.

"Until then, Obama and Romney will spend huge amounts of time and money trying to win their votes, especially in the most competitive states that tend to swing between Republicans and Democrats each presidential election. Obama and Romney face the same hurdle, winning over wavering voters without alienating core supporters they need to canvass neighborhoods and staff telephone banks this fall to help make sure their backers actually vote."

The Financial Times looks at how Mitt Romney campaign is planning to deploy an army of Mormon supporters from Utah "to states where the presidential race is close, such as neighboring Nevada and Colorado. Such efforts could be crucial in battleground states that will decide the election."

"The missionary work that is at the heart of the Mormon religion -- 1m have left home for two years to convert others to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- could be good preparation for a Romney door-knocking and phone-calling outreach effort, given the long hours and rejection that such endeavours often entail."

Washington Post: "Some prominent legal scholars say a series of tactical decisions by President Obama's legal team may have hurt the chances of saving his landmark health-care legislation from being gutted by Supreme Court conservatives."

"The warnings are a preview of the finger-pointing certain to ensue if the law is overturned. That could come sometime this week, when the justices are expected to decide on the constitutionality of the health-care law and its centerpiece provision mandating that all Americans purchase insurance or pay a penalty."