Montgomery County Election Day Guide: A New County Executive, All 11 Council Seats and a Watched School Board Race on Tuesday

Montgomery County voters will choose their new top official on Tuesday, along with all 11 County Council members and two new school board members, The Banner reported in its election-eve guide. Early voting ended Thursday. Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 8 p.m., and voters can find their polling place through the state Board of Elections or by texting FIND to 77788.

In the county executive race, Democratic nominee Will Jawando, a longtime at-large council member who bested council colleagues Andrew Friedson and Evan Glass in June's primary, faces Republican Esther Wells, an accountant who has pledged to lower taxes. Jawando had a heart attack last month, and Wells has taken issue with his refusal to debate her. Fifty-eight percent of registered county voters are Democrats, according to the state Board of Elections, and the Democratic nominees are widely projected to win.

One of the most watched races is nonpartisan: the at-large school board contest pits Omar Lazo against Republican-backed Brenda Diaz. Three council races are guaranteed to bring newcomers: District 1, where school board member Julie Yang hopes to fill Friedson's seat; District 3, where Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman faces Republican Ricky Mui for term-limited Sidney Katz's seat; and the at-large race, where Laurie-Anne Sayles is the only incumbent seeking reelection and Marc Elrich, Scott Goldberg and Karla Silvestre seek the other three seats. County voters also decide three congressional races, 18 General Assembly races and three statewide ballot questions.