In this paper we describe the role of national election studies in voting behavior research in Europe and the United States. We begin with an overview of the organizational development of election studies emphasizing those elements that have influenced design and data collection over time. We then consider the theoretical influences reflected in the several sub-fields of electoral behavior research that have been incorporated into the studies and their implications for the nature of inference. The treatment of time in both theoretical and practical terms is given special attention because of its crucial implications for research design and inference. In the final section, we illustrate how these considerations have affected the selection of variables in national election studies and discuss prospects for a greater comparative focus in the future.