After the final count was announced Wednesday night, Dino Rossi must have wondered whether he dared savor victory.

While the possible governor-elect appeared to enjoy the moment, holding a 261-vote lead over Chris Gregoire in the final tally, victory wasn’t sealed. An automatic recount will take place, and totals are all but certain to change, if only slightly. In a race this close, slightly could be enough to change the result.

Heaven help us if that happens. Lawyers for both sides already have appeared in court, arguing over the validity of certain ballots. Imagine the legal wrangling that could follow if Rossi’s lead disappears in a recount.

The tightness of this election is staggering: Rossi received 1,371,414 votes, Gregoire got 1,371,153. Never doubt that every vote matters.

And lawmakers, once the electoral dust settles and a new governor is in office, must pass reforms that will lessen the negative impacts of tight races. An obvious place to start: Require that mail ballots be received by Election Day so they can be counted as soon as the polls close. Currently, only Washington and Alaska allow ballots to be mailed as late as Election Day. The time it has taken to count votes in this race has left far too little time for transition planning.

Lawmakers also should move the primary election to an earlier date than mid-September. What if a major race was too close to call three weeks after the primary? There wouldn’t be enough time to prepare ballots and voter pamphlets for the general election. That’s a scenario election officials have seen in their nightmares for years.

Finally, the law must be clear regarding the involvement of political parties in the vote-counting process. It was inappropriate for Democratic Party workers to collect signed affidavits from voters with questionable ballots in King County, a practice that was upheld this week by a King County judge. An election result shouldn’t depend on which party is better organized after the voting is over. Legislators should spell out clear rules regarding how questionable ballots can be verified by election officials, and the parties should have no greater role in the process than to observe.

In the meantime, let’s hope that the recount brings a clear and final result that staves off further legal battles.

The great philosopher Yogi Berra was right when he said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” If this one is over by Thanksgiving, we’ll be thankful.