MADISONVILLE, Ky. (WFIE) – As Kentucky kicked off early voting Thursday, large crowds gathered at the Ballard Convention Center in Madisonville.

As people waited to vote, an unexpected power outage turned off all the lights and machines.

Officials say it was a citywide outage. This left some voters waiting, while others opted to vote using a flashlight.

“There is a first time for everything,” said Carlos Esquilin.

“I’ve never voted in the dark,” Kellie Heady said.

Heady was a voter placed in a difficult situation. She had already registered to vote, but had not yet received a ballot.

“I said, ‘I’ll just come back,’ and she said, ‘No, you won’t be able to vote if you wait and come back,’ so I said, ‘I guess I’ll find a chair and m ‘sit.’ down.'”

The crowd thinned for about 30 minutes as officials in the clerk’s office worked to hook up the machines to a generator.

“They did everything they could to make this happen as quickly as possible,” said voter Gina Thiel.

And finally, the lights were turned back on and the machines were turned back on, to loud applause from those who had remained around.

“I changed the machines to be powered by generators, we printed the ballots and everyone was able to vote,” said Hopkins County Clerk Keenan Cloern.

And quickly, the room filled with voters, grateful to be able to vote in full light.

“I’ve never had a power outage in 21 years,” Cloern said. “So I guess that’s our Halloween trick or treat, I don’t know which one it was.”

In total, the lights were off for approximately 30 minutes and power was fully restored in less than an hour.

Early voting continues in Kentucky Friday and Saturday. There is no early voting on Sunday or Monday. Election day is Tuesday.

To find out your early voting times and location, click HERE.

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