Your comment nailed it. Real democracy is a process involving many techniques and hard work. What you describe is how all types of corruption were ended and civil rights gained. People didn't just sit at home voting for a candidate promising, for example, blacks, women, or unionizing workers that they'd make it all better. They had to get off their ass to work at it themselves every day sometimes for years.
The faux-participation model devolved in recent election to shout stuff on online, shout stuff at TV, shout at people listening, and cast vote for one of two scumbags. The real work that got people elected was done by a combination of campaign donors, campaign workers/volunteers, media people, marketing experts, and recently hackers. This collectively filtered the election into a small number of scumbags that voting people chose from. People wanting someone better must get into the groups I listed to help someone better get into that list and stay on it despite smear campaigns. Or use the tactics you mention after election process does what it nearly always does.
The faux-participation model devolved in recent election to shout stuff on online, shout stuff at TV, shout at people listening, and cast vote for one of two scumbags. The real work that got people elected was done by a combination of campaign donors, campaign workers/volunteers, media people, marketing experts, and recently hackers. This collectively filtered the election into a small number of scumbags that voting people chose from. People wanting someone better must get into the groups I listed to help someone better get into that list and stay on it despite smear campaigns. Or use the tactics you mention after election process does what it nearly always does.