On June 17, the Maine AFL-CIO endorsed Maine state Representative John Eder for re-election. This is the first time the AFL-CIO has endorsed a Green Party nominee for state legislature when there was a Democratic nominee also in the race. The AFL-CIO, or various component parts of it, has also been giving official support to the Working Families Party in certain states, and the Labor Party in South Carolina. This increasing interest on the part of the AFL-CIO in parties other than the two major parties is highly significant, and the national mainstream news media is missing the story.

On July 7, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland blocked the relatively new Georgia law that requires voters to present government-issued photo ID’s, in order to vote at the polls. Assuming the injunction stands, the old law, requiring ID (but not necessarily government-issued photo ID) will be in force instead. Lake v Perdue, Fulton Co. Superior Court, 2006-cv-119207.

On June 29, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kopf, a Bush Sr. appointee, ruled that cities may not ban petitioning in public parks, just because the city had rented out the park to a private group sponsoring a festival. He also ruled that cities may not ban petitioning on sidewalks leading to public libraries. Groene v Seng, 4:06-cv-3153. The case has not yet been fully adjudicated, but Judge Kopf issued granted injunctive relief, pending the remaining proceedings in the case.