London may be more than 16,000 kilometres away from the ACT, but some Canberrans will still be able to have their say in the upcoming UK election.
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Despite living on the other side of the world, British citizens living in Australia will be able to cast their ballot to determine whether the Conservative Party's Theresa May or Labour's Jeremy Corbyn will be handed the keys to 10 Downing Street.
![Helen Dooley, who is a British citizen living in Canberra, will be voting in the UK election. Photo: Jamila Toderas Helen Dooley, who is a British citizen living in Canberra, will be voting in the UK election. Photo: Jamila Toderas](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/95f0f8a1-4cea-4031-a7fa-696d8c600fe7/r0_0_2000_1333_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Duffy resident Helen Dooley is among the estimated 1.2 million UK citizens living in Australia, and has voted in every British election since moving down under nine years ago.
With the June 8 poll happening almost a year since the Brexit referendum and two years since the last general election, Mrs Dooley said many in the UK were experiencing voter fatigue.
![British Prime Minister Theresa May speaking to the media outside 10 Downing Street after asking the Queen to dissolve parliament ahead of the election. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth British Prime Minister Theresa May speaking to the media outside 10 Downing Street after asking the Queen to dissolve parliament ahead of the election. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/7fb400bb-be48-48f8-9d0b-f832d47bad68/r0_0_2000_1290_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It does get a bit much because of all the campaigning and all of the news until voting day," she said.
"It was the same for Brexit, but [this election] has been quite ferocious and in such a short period of time."
Unlike the recent French election, where embassies in Australia became polling places for citizens, British citizens living abroad can only cast their ballot through a postal vote or by nominating someone still living in the UK to vote on their behalf.
However, due to this year's poll being called quickly, the British High Commissioner Menna Rawlings expects a majority of votes from citizens living in Australia to be done by proxy, with postal votes taking up to six weeks to process.
![Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Photo: Getty Images Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Photo: Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/74dc53e6-c6a8-415c-9487-3dcb1f73d855/r0_0_2000_1333_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We believe a large number of Brits in Australia are already on the UK electoral roll, and have had the opportunity to appoint a trusted proxy to vote on their behalf, in line with Electoral Commission advice," she said.
British citizens living overseas can only vote in the election if they have lived in the UK during the past 15 years.
Figures from December 2016 show there are almost 264,000 registered British voters living overseas, with more than 28,000 in Australia.
However, the exact number of eligible voters in Australia for the upcoming election is unknown.
Mrs Dooley said she has nominated one of her parents living in the UK to vote for her.
The Canberra resident will cast her vote in a constituency in the Manchester area, and said national security was one of the key election issues after the recent terrorist attack in the city which killed 22 people.
"The Conservative Party thought they would hold the election now because of Brexit, but as the campaign has developed, way more issues such as immigration, security and the National Health Service have really come to the forefront," Mrs Dooley said.
When British Prime Minister Theresa May called the snap election in April, many experts predicted she would win with a comfortable majority after having a more than 20 point lead over Jeremy Corbyn.
However, the result could be closer than first thought, with the Conservatives only holding a three-point lead in some of the latest polls, with even forecasts of a hung parliament.
Regardless of the result, Mrs Dooley said she will be watching the vote tally with great interest.
"It's easier living in Australia in a way because the results start coming in when I'm getting out of bed and I'm able to watch the British coverage online," she said.