Regardless of the unit concentrating the monopoly of the coactive power it might constitute, some extend of decentralization from the juridical-political power or from the transmission of competences or faculties according to the space or territorial validity of the enforcement of the law is considered, when a State is been design. Thus, it is possible to distinguish among diverse grades of decentralization of such power. From the whole centralization of such faculties in national bodies, up to the absolute decentralization of them in public entities which allows them to create and enforce legal norms in its jurisdiction.

In other terms, spatial applicability of the law is not one. Therefore, depending on the territory, there are several creators and enforcers of the legal rules. Among the State, there are national, local, provincial, departmental, regional, autonomic, and eventually, county bodies with a specific and exclusive competence, depending on the form of the State. These competences might be classified among normative, administrative or jurisdictional ones, valid in the whole territory for certain topics (when national) or just in part of it.

From a lower-higher perspective and taking into account the different territorial division organization, States can be classified in central or unitary, regional or composed by autonomies, federal, and confederations.  

Since next to the national bodies coexist local, state or province, and even county authorities, Federal State is one of the most defined grades of decentralization of the juridical-political power. This coexistence implies that all of them are elected by the community, autonomous from each other, and entitled to absolutely function within their own jurisdiction. It is about two different delegated branches of government with equal level, on one hand the federal level and, on the other, the local states level. In the first one, there are whole-territory valid rules, issued and applied by federal bodies and, therefore, made for all the people living there. On the other hand, there are local norms created by local bodies always taking into account the Federal Constitution, which are valid only in some part of the national territory and with a narrow validity scope.

Power is not just concentrated on the center, but also in the provinces o local states. They have political, normative, administrative and jurisdictional faculties within their own jurisdiction. The distribution or decentralization of the political power attends to a centrifugal theory. This feature does not imply that the State should not be considered as a whole national federal State. Even taking into account that certainly national or federal Constitution, as well as national or federal authorities (legislative, administrative and jurisdictional) exist, there are also local states Constitutions and authorities (legislative, administrative and jurisdictional) which, definitively have to adjust to the federal Constitution containing all the principles and fundaments of the federal or national State. These features appear on most of the federal States. However, there might be some faculties reserved exclusively to the federal authorities like, for instance, the justice administration.

Some examples of federal States are Germany, Argentine, Australia, Brazil, the United States of America, Mexico, Nigeria, and Venezuela.

On the other hand, the Regional or Autonomic State is a form of organization of a national State, through which certain public, executive, as well as normative functions correspond to “the depending territorial bodies”. This way, some nations as Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, have developed regions with a constitutional guarantied self-government, which, from a narrow point of view, does not match the rest of the local States of a federal State, or the territorial minor bodies of a unitary State.

Through the national Constitution, there are some central authorities in this State, entitled with some side faculties. Nevertheless, without implying that this can be considered as a faculty to design their own Constitution, there are some other regional, territorial or provincial authorities with express faculties and legislative autonomy. Also, they do not have a representative chamber with territorial interests protection aims, nor participate in the constitutional amendment process, nor have any recognized attributes in the jurisdictional ground.

Due to the monopolization of the power as well as of the exercise of faculties that characterize the public dominion by some national authorities, within the so-called central o unitary State, political power is completely centralized. Every person situated beneath that sovereignty obeys the same and only central or national authorities and thus, they are subject to an only constitutional regime and to the same laws. 

However, some degree of faculties’ decentralization in favor of the local, regional, departmental or county collectivities is not incompatible with the unitary State. Nevertheless, due to the fact that it is the central authority the one that concedes and supervises the exercise of such power, full autonomy is never reached. Since a national authority accumulates public power, it can be said that it attends to a centripetal theory. Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and France are some examples of unitary States.

Nevertheless, there is another model of organization of the State: the confederated States, to which, the confederation of States, have recently joined. Switzerland is located among the first ones. There, the preservation of freedom, sovereignty and independence of the confederated entities before the national Authority strengthens the level of autonomy. Also, the entities are equal among each other and, therefore, they have the right to separate from the confederated State in any moment.

On the other hand, the confederation of two or more national independent States is aimed to satisfying economical demands from their components. It is regulated basically by international law thorough treaties or agreements like in the paradigmatic case of the European Union. It is based on the interstate cooperation and coordination principles, as well as on the integration of communitarian or union and states body of laws. Besides from the mainly economical and commercial topics, some other spaces in which the confederation is hold are the ones related to the exercise and infrastructure of communication, as well as cultural, scientific, technological, assistance and sanitary integration, among others.

Even though there are communitarian and national bodies with diversify competences, the communitarian bodies can issue rules with direct efficacy within the internal national States body of laws. In some other cases, a previous selection and adoption of some internal acts is required.

In other terms, what distinguishes a federal State from a central or autonomic one is the decentralization degree. And between those and the international of States, the difference is that the first ones find their legal fundament in the national body of laws, while the confederation of States is based on international law ruling.

Since the authorities to be elected, as well as their regulatory legal framework, depends on the model of the State, it is necessary to take into account the diverse forms of organization that it can adopt. Within a federal State, it can be found federal (executive body representative or president and legislative body, normally with a higher and a lower chamber), local, and state or province authorities. These authorities will be declared through electoral processes ruled, in each case, by different laws which also contain the institutions in charge of the preparation of the election, as well as some others in charge of solving the electoral dispute resolutions both, local and federal, but always attached to bases or principles established in the federal Constitution. However, this is no obstacle to let a central body organize the elections and a different one, also national, solve the disputes arise from the local, federal, and even at the county level, electoral processes.

Central authorities in a unitary State design the legal framework for the election of the own national and, if such is the case, departmental and local or provincial authorities. Although there can be some local authorities responsible for the administration of the local electoral process, in a regional or autonomic State, the ruling to which the institutions as well as the national and local electoral processes should stick to is established by the national authorities.