Washington (CNN) Reports of voter intimidation, rigged elections and worse have put Democrats and Republicans on alert for just about any culprit, save the one bushy-tailed bandit that stalled an Ohio county's voting on Halloween.

Voters in Miami County, Ohio were forced to use backup paper ballots after a squirrel stalled early voting there Monday. Details were sparse, but the Dayton Daily News reported that a squirrel was blamed for a power failure that stretched from 9:15 a.m. Monday to 5 p.m. that same day.

"We lost power and we were forced to vote by paper," Eric Morgan, deputy director of the Miami County Board of Elections, told CNN.

A call to the county's maintenance chief for more details was not immediately returned Thursday. Morgan did not know offhand whether the critter survived the power outage.