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Six weeks before Election Day, states across the country are still wrestling over new voting laws. They’re among 17 states which, citing voting integrity, have passed ID laws or other measures that could impact the election. Critics say they could suppress turnout by discouraging some voters – especially seniors and minorities – from voting. 

But it’s the absence of such a law in North Carolina that has become an issue in the state’s gubernatorial race, offering a sharp contrast between Democrat Walter Dalton and Republican Pat McCrory. Read more here.

More political headlines below.

The recent Supreme Court ruling on the federal health care law may be driving campaign contributions this campaign season, an analysis from Governing Magazine suggests.

The researchers looked at two states: Indiana and North Carolina. It determined that health care is primed to play a significant role in the state level races, particularly the gubernatorial battle between Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Walter Dalton.

"According to Governing’s analysis, Dalton has received at least $17,200 post-Supreme Court from contributors with connections to health-care reform (out of $1.7 million for his entire candidacy), while McCrory has garnered $37,254 (out of $3.8 million). These are the early returns since the Court’s decision, and the number for both is likely higher: donations have only been disclosed through June 30. But there was some significant movement in the immediate aftermath of the ruling," wrote the magazine's Dylan Scott.

The major Democratic candidates for governor held their first televised debate Monday night, rapping the Republican legislature for education cuts but offering only muted criticisms of one another.

Introducing themselves to what polls suggest is a large number of undecided voters, Lt Gov. Walter Dalton, former Congressman Bob Etheridge and state Rep. Bill Faison spent much of the hour talking about their backgrounds and discussing how they would work to address North Carolina’s high unemployment numbers and help the state regain momentum in education.

Read the full story and see a photo gallery from the debate -- the first of a trio that continues tonight. Click here to see how the pundits rated the night. And check to see if the candidates were telling the truth about the state's economy, tracking and federal transportation money in the N&O's Fact Check.

In other headlines:

--Columnist Barry Saunders: Until the Democratic Party tells everything there is to tell about the harassment allegations and the settlement, many others may get the same impression – that Raleigh is a Democratic den of iniquity. To borrow a phrase from Jay Parmley, let me be clear: What David Parker needs to do is tell why he settled with the alleged victim, why he kept quiet about it and how much money the ex-staffer was paid. Full column here.