The 2000 presidential election was a wake-up call for many Americans. When George W. Bush became president while Al Gore won the popular vote, many Americans realized for the first time that the arcane system of elections could malfunction. Looking at presidential elections as well as the voting system used to elect officials to local, state and federal legislatures, Douglas J. Amy argues that plurality rules are unfair, outmoded and undemocratic and that the United States should adopt a different electoral system - proportional representation - by which officials are elected in large, multimember districts according to the proportion of the vote won by their parties.