Potomac residents will help decide one of Montgomery County's most watched races on Tuesday, Nov. 3: the at-large Board of Education seat.

Omar Lazo and Brenda Diaz are the two candidates for the seat being vacated by Karla Silvestre, who is running for county council. The race is nonpartisan. All registered voters countywide can cast a ballot regardless of where they live, according to Montgomery Community Media.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Anyone in line by closing time will be allowed to vote, according to CBS News Baltimore.

The candidates

Lazo is a Montgomery College Board of Trustees member and the father of three Montgomery County Public Schools students. He owns Los Chorros, a Salvadoran restaurant in Silver Spring that his parents started, according to a Montgomery Community Media candidate profile published in February.

The Montgomery County Education Association, the local teachers union, endorsed Lazo. State and local elected officials have also lined up behind him, The Banner reported.

Diaz is the founder and director of Heart of Joy Learning, a farm and forest program for homeschooled elementary school-age children. She also teaches middle and high school social studies at Fusion Global Academy. She previously taught at MCPS and ran for school board in 2024 in District 2, according to Montgomery Community Media.

Diaz has called for the return of police officers to MCPS schools and has said she is "not MAGA" and "not a book banner," according to The Banner. The Strong Maryland super PAC has spent tens of thousands of dollars running ads against her in the heavily Democratic county, The Banner reported.

Capital News Service reporters found that Diaz has two state tax liens filed against her regarding a property in Gaithersburg, one from 2022 for $4,659.45 and one from 2021 for $5,247.46, as published by Bethesda Magazine. Diaz said she lived at that address more than 10 years ago and was not aware of the liens until contacted by reporters. "I believe the assessment may be in error, and I am working to resolve it promptly," Diaz said.

Primary results

In the June primary, five candidates competed for the at-large seat. Unofficial results showed Lazo held a slight lead with 30,090 votes, or about 33%, to Diaz's 27,991 votes, or about 31%, Patch reported at the time. Those were the only two candidates to advance to the general election.

When to expect results

Don't count on knowing the winner on election night. Montgomery County elections board president David Naimon told The Banner that mail-in and overseas ballots will still need processing after polls close. Official certification of results typically takes more than 10 days, Naimon said.

The state Board of Elections will post unofficial election totals as they are processed. Voters can observe the mail-in ballot canvass in person or online through the Montgomery County Board of Elections.