It’s likely that the uncertainty may drag on even longer than first estimated, as several counties have asked for extensions. Ballots mailed from abroad are being counted until Friday.

But Amalee McCoy’s won’t be among them.

The 42-year-old U.S. citizen who has lived abroad for almost three decades sent in her ballot from Thailand on Oct. 17, using registered mail. “We kept a copy of the tracking number as I was concerned about reports of voter suppression during early voting already happening in the news,” said McCoy, who lives in Bangkok but votes in Osceola County, Fla. In previous years, voting from abroad posed few challenges, she said. But this year, things went differently.

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“When [Nov. 5] rolled around, I started to wonder about if my ballot had been received,” McCoy said. When she checked online, she saw that her vote had reached John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Oct. 25. It disappeared without a trace until Nov. 8. “My husband sent me a photo of my returned absentee ballot, that he had just received in the mail at our home in Bangkok,” McCoy recalled. The reason? “Not deliverable as addressed.”

McCoy has shared her case with the Democrats Abroad in Thailand organization and has alerted local officials in the United States but says she has received no explanation of why her ballot never reached its destination.

“I’m also a Thai citizen, and I find it highly ironic that I have more faith that my vote will be received, registered and counted in the upcoming national elections here in February,” McCoy said. Thailand has hung in the balance between dictatorship and democracy in recent years.

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With an estimated 2.6 million Americans living abroad who can vote, according to the Federal Voter Assistance Program, the broader question to many is why the United States makes it so hard for them to participate in elections. There are a number of challenges, including varying deadlines, delays in registrations and the risks of international mailing. Some try; others don’t even bother.

To vote abroad as an American, you usually need to register and request an absentee ballot by downloading and filling out a form called “Federal Post Card Application” that is available on the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s website. You’ll probably have to print and return it by mail, though some states accept fax or email. At that point you are at the whim of your local postal service unless you want to spring for international fast delivery services or someone can hand-carry the ballot with them if they are heading to the United States (and can lend you the postage).

Next, make sure that form has arrived at its destination. (If it hasn’t, you may be able to obtain a federal write-in absentee ballot with the help of your embassy or consulate.) Then comes the crucial part of voting. Don’t miss the deadlines. Allow plenty of time for the ballot to be mailed. And be prepared for surprises that may emerge in the process.

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Turnout among eligible Americans living abroad stood at only 4 percent in the 2014 midterms, compared with over 36 percent overall.

Other countries do a better job.

During the first round of presidential elections last year, a stunning 44 percent of French citizens living abroad cast their ballot. That’s eight percentage points more than the overall turnout during the 2014 U.S. midterms.

France has come up with innovative solutions to make sure foreign voters aren’t left behind, including the creation of political offices designed to represent citizens abroad. In 2010, the country created 11 foreign constituencies with their own representatives in the French Parliament. A French citizen last registered in Paris but living in London, for example, won’t have to vote for a Parisian anymore but can instead choose a “Northern European” French lawmaker who regularly travels there and has local offices across the region.

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Right now, that member of Parliament is Alexandre Holroyd, a politician aligned with President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party. “The democratic representation of the French community meets two objectives: First, it ensures that our citizens remain attached to our political community and concerned by our political life, making them our country’s ambassadors everywhere in the world,” he said.

“And second, it conveys a clear message: Political and civil rights are more than just about residency. They are about citizenship,” Holroyd added.

France’s push to better represent citizens living abroad didn’t pass without controversy, as some claimed that the new system would favor the conservative party. Those concerns turned out to be baseless, however, as votes ended up being more evenly shared than initially predicted. The benefit of having French members of Parliament for China or North America, for instance, is the inclusiveness of that approach. The message? We care about every vote, no matter who you are or where you live.

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But there are more ways to increase international participation. While the United States does not allow its citizens to vote in embassies, many other Western nations, including France and Sweden, do. Interest was enormous during French presidential elections last year, with long lines of eager voters reported in front of some consulates and embassies.

Thousands showed up at a polling place in Montreal, forming a one-mile-long line. Photographers captured similar scenes at other French polling places around the world.

Some Americans think it’s time for the United States to replicate that approach. “I definitely think that the U.S. should allow American citizens to vote at U.S. embassies,” said McCoy, the Bangkok-based voter whose ballot never made it to Florida.

With a prior turnout of 4 percent, there isn’t a lot to lose.