Direct voting is relative. Candidates are supported in the last 15 years also by companies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC and coupled with campaigns getting more and more expensive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_finance_in_the_United... that can mean that in practice it is not as direct as it might seem.

Not sure what is the solution, but if people say they would prefer younger "options" and they don't materialize on the ballots, that is a sign that the system does not work as intended.