171. The rules that govern political contributions are less stringent in local elections than they are in national elections because they typically involve smaller amounts of money and present less opportunity for abuse. E

(A) The rules that govern political contributions are less stringent in local elections than they are in national elections because they typically involve smaller amounts of money and present less opportunity for abuse.

(B) Because they typically involve smaller amounts of money and present less opportunity for abuse, the rules that govern political contributions are less stringent in local elections than the rules are less stringent in local elections than the rules are in national elections.

(C) The rules that govern political contributions are less stringent in local elections than national elections because they typically involve smaller amounts of money and present less opportunity for abuse.

(D) Because local elections typically involve smaller amounts of money and present less opportunity for abuse than national elections, the rules that govern local political contributions are less stringent than national contributions.（E）

(E) The rules that govern political contributions are less stringent in local elections than they are in national elections because local elections typically involve smaller amounts of money and present less opportunity for abuse.

看不懂题目，请问the rules的谓语在哪？

The rules are less stringent in local elections than they are in national elections because ...