The federal system here is fairly weak, by design -- and the ideology of that weakness is still prevalent. Making this shift would probably require more arm-twi

The federal system here is fairly weak, by design -- and the ideology of that weakness is still prevalent. Making this shift would probably require more arm-twisting and political capital than the federal government can apply even when federalists are in power. There's a latent suspicion of the federal government in the electorate here that is usually pretty easily activated. I'm also not sure I see the advantage to centralizing this. It's a case of "many hands make light work". There's a lot to do to conduct an election. Breaking the task among lots of basically autonomous units, made up of local individuals instead of some faceless Washington bureaucrats (see, there's that latent suspicion ;) gives some resilience -- and helps voters feel connected to the process. Also worth noting that although the structures of the various intra-state governments are broadly similar, there's plenty of differences that would be a pain in the neck for a federal administration.