Another election, another recount. Minnesotans awoke Wednesday to the distressingly familiar prospect of overtime in the biggest contest on the Minnesota ballot, the race for governor.

DFLer Mark Dayton clung to a lead of fewer than 9,000 votes over Republican Tom Emmer as election administrators around the state began their routine double-check of initial vote tallies. If those counts lead to a Canvassing Board determination on Nov. 23 that Dayton's margin is less than 0.5 percent of the total vote, as it appeared to be on Wednesday, state law requires a recount -- whether the candidates call for one or not.

That's as it should be. Elections belong to the people, not to the candidates or their parties. It's in Minnesota's interest -- not just that of the losing candidate -- to verify results when elections are this close.

Arduous though it was, the 2008 Franken-Coleman recount provided welcome confirmation that Minnesota elections are administered with a high degree of reliability and integrity. Nothing found in that exercise justifies Republican Chairman Tony Sutton's implication yesterday that Norm Coleman was "rolled" by DFL partisans two years ago -- something Sutton vowed won't happen again.

But Sutton has this much right: This is not 2008. Dayton's margin is much wider than was Coleman's over Al Franken at this juncture two years ago. What's more, changes this year in state election law requiring more consistent, centralized processing of absentee ballots and spelling out recount procedures have reduced chances for a reversal of the canvassed results. That should tamp down GOP donors' interest in paying for an election contest in the courts.

Those differing circumstances ought to augur for a speedy resolution of this recount. So does Minnesota's urgent need for new gubernatorial leadership. State and local governments are experiencing their the worst fiscal crisis since the 1930s, and the economy needs the jolt of a smart new public-private growth strategy. A duly elected governor is essential to progress on both fronts.

The state Constitution (cited above) seems to anticipate a prolonged election contest. Gov. Tim Pawlenty allowed on Wednesday that he's prepared to stay in office past the prescribed end of his term on Dec. 31.

While his willingness to serve is commendable, the situation that might ensue would not be. A new GOP majority in the Legislature could see an extended Pawlenty term as an irresistible opportunity to enact bills that would never pass muster with a DFL Gov. Dayton. That outcome would trample the will of the people.

House GOP leader Kurt Zellers said Wednesday that it's "too soon" to comment on what his caucus might do should it go into session with Republican Pawlenty still occupying the governor's office. Zellers, expected to be chosen the next House speaker this Saturday, ought to proceed with caution. Overreaching in a partisan direction is a common mistake by newly elected majorities, one that can shorten political lifespans.

For the past 20 years, voters have been delivering what Dayton on Wednesday called "split decisions" at the polls. Since 1990, governors and legislators have arrived at the Capitol in varying patterns that divide control between the parties. Implicit in the voters' choices is a desire for state policies shaped via bipartisan compromise, not one-party power plays.

Tuesday's upset victories by Republicans in the House and Senate will produce a new pattern. The last time both legislative chambers were in GOP control was in 1971, when Republicans were called Conservatives and ran on nonpartisan ballots.

It's worth noting that 1971 also ushered in DFL Gov. Wendell Anderson. He forged a working relationship with Conservative leaders and engineered what is remembered as the signal legislative achievement of the last 50 years, the Minnesota Miracle. It wasn't easy. It took a special session that lasted until October 1971 to get it done. But the lesson for today's divided leaders is that if they earnestly pursue creative compromise, they can accomplish great things.