Ask HN: Why haven't we automated government?

I tend to get some really wild ideas sometimes, so bear with me - but I think this is something worth thinking about. Governments (at least the democratic kind) have always been about representing the ideals of the majority of the population. This has often come in the form of elected officers representing constituencies with their platform of beliefs. It's my understanding that this infrastructure was set up this way because it was an individual's best way of having their voice heard at the time. We've obviously come a long way since the invention of democracy... And we've seen how technology (especially the internet) can empower individuals.

So what this has been leading up to is: does it not make more sense to put power back into the hands of the people, and allow everyone to vote on specific topics rather than focusing on what party to vote for?

Edit: I suppose this is more of a question of elections - but perhaps we could dive a little deeper and imagine that there are government works who act solely on the outcome of regular votes.