The Montgomery County Education Association is accepting applications from candidates seeking its Apple Ballot endorsement for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election, with questionnaires due by Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 5 p.m.

The reopened process matters for Potomac-area residents: two County Council at-large seats and the District 3 seat will be on the November ballot without an MCEA-endorsed candidate, and the winners will vote on education funding, zoning and transportation decisions affecting the Churchill and Wootton school clusters.

MCEA's Apple Ballot carried serious weight in the June primary. Eighty percent of endorsed candidates won their races, The Banner reported. But two of the union's at-large picks, Fatmata Barrie and Josie Caballero, lost. So did District 3 candidate Izola Shaw, who fell to Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman.

Those losses created the openings.

In the at-large race, MCEA-endorsed Marc Elrich and incumbent Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles advanced alongside Democrats Scott Goldberg and school board member Karla Silvestre and Republican Sherwin Wells. The union now needs to pick two additional at-large candidates from that field. In District 3, Ashman will face Republican Ricky Mui, and MCEA will decide whether to back either one.

District 3 covers communities near Potomac, according to The Banner's reporting.

MCEA Political Action and Legislative Support Committee Chair Stephanie Gawlinski said in a Thursday, Aug. 6, press release that the endorsement is decided by elected representatives of the union's 14,000 members. She encouraged eligible candidates to apply.

MCEA President David Stein said the process is open to any candidate who won a primary race, according to The Sentinel. Candidates previously endorsed by MCEA do not need to reapply.

The union is not seeking new school board endorsements. All four of its preferred school board candidates won their primaries and already carry the Apple Ballot into November.

MCEA will interview candidates who submit questionnaires on Wednesday, Aug. 19, between 6 and 8 p.m. Candidates can email [email protected] to request the questionnaire.