This study explains the low Overseas Voting (OV) participation among Filipino migrants, by examining OV in Japan in the 2016 elections. Feddersen and Sandroni’s ([2006]. “A Theory of Participation in Elections.” American Economic Review 96 (4): 1271– 1282. doi:10.1257/aer.96.4.1271) rational model of electoral participation is adopted to produce evidence-based claims on why OV among Filipino migrants in Japan is low. By examining the perceived benefits, costs, and sense of citizen duty of the overseas Filipinos vis-à-vis their physical absence from their (imagined) homeland, this study shows that voting costs overwhelm the benefits of voting and migrants tend to exercise their citizenship through other means. The low electoral participation of overseas Filipinos is not a manifestation of the loss of allegiance to the homeland nor political disinterest. Rather, voting is not seen as an urgent need nor a responsibility as an overseas national, albeit acknowledged as a civic duty. These have important implications for improving OV participation among Filipinos and other diaspora communities that chronically have low electoral participation.

本研究通过考察日本在 2016 年选举中的海外投票 (OV)，解释了菲律宾移民的海外投票 (OV) 参与率低。Feddersen 和 Sandroni 的（[2006]。“参与选举的理论。”美国经济评论 96(4): 1271– 1282. doi:10.1257/aer.96.4.1271) 采用选举参与的理性模型来提出基于证据的主张，说明为什么在日本的菲律宾移民中的 OV 较低。通过检查海外菲律宾人相对于他们（想象中的）祖国的实际缺席的感知利益、成本和公民责任感，本研究表明，投票成本压倒了投票的好处，移民倾向于行使他们的公民身份通过其他方式。海外菲律宾人的低选举参与度并不是对祖国失去忠诚或对政治不感兴趣的表现。相反，投票既不被视为迫切需要，也不被视为海外国民的责任，尽管被认为是公民义务。