1) There are people working on that kind of thing. Start asking around, make your interest known, get people to tell you when they hear something. Look into things like Code for America, Make Your Laws, or Votizen; they're not precisely what you're looking for, but they've probably heard about things that are closer.
2) Build it. Get to know people who are involved in your local town's politics and build community support for such a web site. Figure out what the needs of the various subcommunities are, including the people who don't speak English, the people who have never used a computer, and the like and figure out how to account for them. Once you've got broad support, you can work on converting people into actually using your site.
Yes, it's exactly like a startup. Except that you're not going to turn much of a profit and you can't pick and choose your customer base.
3) Keep in mind that any widely used system is going to become a target for optimization and exploitation. That's what government corruption is.
2) Build it. Get to know people who are involved in your local town's politics and build community support for such a web site. Figure out what the needs of the various subcommunities are, including the people who don't speak English, the people who have never used a computer, and the like and figure out how to account for them. Once you've got broad support, you can work on converting people into actually using your site.
Yes, it's exactly like a startup. Except that you're not going to turn much of a profit and you can't pick and choose your customer base.
3) Keep in mind that any widely used system is going to become a target for optimization and exploitation. That's what government corruption is.