"With highlights on the historic 2000 election, best-selling authors Robert Dudley and Alan Gitelson provide a look inside the rules that drive and shape elections in the United States.". "Presenting the tools readers need to examine how elections in the United States really function, the authors argue that understanding this system requires more than just knowledge of voting behavior. They look at elections in the context of "new institutionalism." Emphasizing the importance of federalism in comprehending electoral systems, the authors explore how states - as with Florida during the 2000 presidential election - are still the major actors in defining national elections."--BOOK JACKET.