To your point that the electoral system doesn't provide "meaningful choices," one suggestion I've always thought was interesting is Jonathan Bernstein's "floors, not ceilings" idea:
> No, the trouble in campaign finance that bothers me the most isn’t corruption, or the massive sums spent on presidential campaigns; it’s the fact that many Senate challengers and most House challengers can’t raise enough to run minimally viable campaigns. The solution to that, in my view is to put a layer of public financing as a floor for all major party congressional nominees, while loosening the rules to make it easier for them to raise larger amounts of money. Floors, not ceilings (plus meaningful disclosure).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/for-f...