A recount is not the time to support Mark Dayton or Tom Emmer for governor.

While only about 9,000 votes currently separate the two top candidates now is truly the time to prove we can set party politics aside.

If the recount for the Minnesota governor’s race ends with Emmer in the lead, Minnesotans lose.

Party politics aside, a swing of almost 9,000 votes — in either direction — would signal substantial flaws in the state’s voting system.

Minnesotans expected such flaws were a thing of the past after the 2008 Senate recount between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman.

As voters, we expect efficient, accurate elections — ones that are decided on the first Tuesday in November. We don’t want party lawyers duking it out into the next term.

After 2008 and the presidential recount of 2000, voters are tired of recounts. Left in limbo again, the voters are currently the losers of another election. How deep a loss is still to be determined.

Now is truly the time to depart from party support. It’s time to pay attention to our polling system, and we hope the initial results prove accurate. Not because of support for a candidate, but because we hope our system had it right the first time.