As a formalism in the new media era, online canvassing has been criticized for a long time, but it has been banned repeatedly. Some grass-roots cadres reflect that many departments are keen to organize online voting. In order to complete the task of online voting, grass-roots cadres should not only vote regularly every day, but also mobilize their circle of friends to help complete the task, which has become a typical "formalism at the fingertips", which not only increases the burden on the grass-roots level, but also brings the involution of grass-roots governance. A social phenomenon seems unreasonable, but it lasts for a long time, which shows that it has its own supporting force behind it, at least to meet the interests and needs of some people. Online voting and online canvassing are "one slap does not ring". Both the organizers and finalists know the rules of the game, so they are also tacitly carrying on the game. On the one hand, various departments are keen to organize online voting, as if this is a prescribed action of taking the "online mass line". The reason why the organizers are so designed is to increase the number of participants in the event and enlarge the scale and influence of the event. In this way, they not only have a bright face and highlight their work achievements, but also avoid the embarrassment that no one cares about the event itself. On the other hand, the shortlisted units and individuals also understand the online canvassing and often "bombard" their relatives and friends, hoping to improve their ranking and obtain honor through canvassing. However, the voting of relatives and friends is not the best, and they pay little attention to the theme and content of the voting. Therefore, the original online voting activity, which was originally to attract people to participate in public affairs, has been ignored. In recent years, the rice circle culture around entertainment stars also has a similar phenomenon of online canvassing, which is becoming more and more intense. In order for their favorite stars to rush to the hot search, fans are often closely organized, divided at all levels, and mobilize and transfer large amounts of money, making all kinds of Internet platforms a mess. With the vigorous rectification of relevant departments, the chaos in the rice circle has been curbed, and the related problems such as bidding ranking have also been rectified. Relatively speaking, the online voting of some party and government organs, enterprises and institutions has little pressure to adopt a more fair and reasonable way due to insufficient social supervision, so that this leaky online voting mode can continue to this day. In fact, online voting presents the work achievements of grass-roots governance through digital means, and the quantitative number of votes and praise times provide examples to highlight the political achievements of relevant departments. However, it is difficult to focus on the pursuit of quantitative goals and management at the grass-roots level, which will also lead to the pursuit of empty goals. The modernization of grass-roots governance means less open cheating and more substantive participation. How to make online voting and other public participation activities have substantive excellence, rather than cheering at the fingertips, may also require the organizers to use their brains and work harder. Relevant departments should also strengthen the supervision of such online voting activities, stop some evaluation and recognition activities that are obviously shoddy, unfair and simply earn cries, reduce people's feelings, time and energy wasted due to such ineffective activities, and return to activities with a more substantive, sense of participation and sense of gain. (the author is a researcher at the National Institute of development and strategy, Renmin University of China and a professor at the school of Public Management) (Xinhua News Agency)