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In a tight campaign, the harsh tone of which has carried into the post-election vote count, the sound spilling from a closed-door meeting of partisan lawyers and election officials seemed almost as unlikely as catching Heather Wilson and Patricia Madrid hand-in-hand at a roller rink.

But there it was, as the sun set over an Albuquerque warehouse on a sharp, suddenly autumnal Sunday: Laughter.

Representatives from both sides emerged from the 90-minute meeting talking about bipartisan civility. It was a small moment in a truculent season, but it was something. They'd reached agreement, they said, on ground rules for counting the 3,756 ballots remaining in the race.

With Wilson leading by a little more than half that number, the agreement left aside potentially contentious issues and may be short lived, but consider this: Days earlier, party officials stood outside the same warehouse and angrily accused each other of lying. The Wilson campaign, meanwhile, denounced a vote-counting process it said was defined by "incompetence."

Wilson, the incumbent Republican congresswoman, declared herself the victor in the race last week. Madrid, the state attorney general, has refused to concede.

Of the remaining ballots, attention is focused on the 2,698 provisional ballots cast on election day. Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim has said that he hopes those ballots will reduce Wilson's margin enough that a recount could turn the tables, though he's also held out hope the provisional ballots could put Madrid in the lead outright.

The provisional ballots were cast by voters whose registration couldn't be confirmed by poll workers on election day. Wertheim has said those ballots will trend toward Madrid because purported Republican dirty tricks led many Democrats to vote at the wrong precinct.

Another lot of 1,058 "in lieu of" ballots - cast by people who requested absentee ballots but said they never received them - also remain to be counted.

The long task of counting both sets of ballots began this morning and is expected to take until Wednesday, Bernalillo County Elections Administrator Jaime Diaz said.

Before the provisional ballots can be counted, election workers must determine whether they are valid. That is expected to take all day today and possibly part of Tuesday, Diaz said.

Under the agreement Sunday, guidelines for counting look like this:

Provisional ballots cast by registered Bernalillo County voters who simply showed up at the wrong precinct will count, assuming the identity of the voter can be established.

Ballots that won't count include those cast by people who aren't registered, are registered in a different county, or can't vote because they are a convicted felon, among other criteria.

With poll watchers from both parties standing by, election workers will try to determine a ballot's eligibility by checking the information provided by provisional voters - including name, address, date of birth and Social Security number - against the secretary of state's computer database of registered voters.

If workers can't confirm the voter as registered in Bernalillo County, they will also try to confirm the voter wasn't registered here by checking databases of voters registered in other counties, Diaz said.

And they will check databases of people who are not registered to vote anywhere in New Mexico, including those who have moved out of state, withdrawn their registration, been convicted of a felony, or died.

In cases where workers cannot positively confirm that a ballot is either qualified or disqualified, it will be set aside - a source of possible future contention if Madrid is able to close the gap.

"In close cases, we'll fight about it later, rather than hold up the whole process," said Paul Kienzle, a lawyer with the Republican side.

In 2004, the first year they were used in New Mexico, only about 45 percent of provisional ballots passed muster and were added to the final vote tallies. County Clerk Mary Herrera has said she believes more will count this year because voters have a better understanding of the process.

"We're going to do everything we can to identify the voter and see that their vote is counted," she said after emerging from the meeting Sunday.

Democratic Party lawyer John Boyd characterized Sunday's meeting as a moment of bipartisan accord and said he is satisfied with the way the process was moving overall.

"People have this impression that if the final numbers aren't available immediately, there's something wrong," he said. "That's not the case. Everyone has an interest in getting it right."

Alongside the provisional ballot count, workers pushed ahead with the canvass - a vote audit that will certify the election results.

As that work continued, another possible reason for the softening tone of rhetoric at the warehouse was evident from the palpable sense of weariness that had taken hold Sunday.

Some election workers carried pillows to soften the blow of the folding chairs where many have spent the better part of five days.

Diaz said the canvass was about 45 percent complete Sunday afternoon. By law, it must be completed by Friday.

"We're going to be pushing it but we'll get it done," he said.