Prince William School Board Chair Results: Lateef Holds Lead

Updated at 10:45 p.m.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — Unofficial results showed incumbent Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef with a lead over two challengers on Tuesday night.

(See real-time election results at the bottom of this story.)

Every seat on the Prince William County School Board was up for election this year, including the at-large chair seat.

At 10 p.m., Lateef held 49 percent of the tallied votes, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting. Carrie Rist held 40 percent of votes, while Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco secured 9 percent of votes. Provisional ballots have not been included yet, according to the department of elections.

Erica Tredinnick, Lisa Zargarpur, Jennifer Wall, Tracy Blake, R.M Jessie, Jr., Justin Wilk, and Loree Williams also held leads in their respective races, unofficial results showed.

Throughout the county, challengers cited concerns about the current school board. Challengers often cited learning loss from the pandemic and school safety concerns. Incumbent school board members touted their efforts to increase teacher pay and implement new security scanners in schools.

Carrie Rist, a challenger for the at-large seat, said in a Patch questionnaire that the school system was in a crisis. "Worsening violence and bullying, plummeting academic performance, and the worst teacher shortage in Prince William County history have deprived our children of the promise of a world-class education," Rist said.

Jaylen Custis is a 19-year-old candidate for school board in the Woodbridge District. Custis spoke to a Patch reporter outside a Woodbridge voting precinct and reinforced his motivation for running.

Custis believes the school system needs a change due to concerns about test scores, student safety, and resources for students.

In a 1 p.m. update, the Prince William County Office of Elections said 33,000 ballots had been cast across the county.

"That is more than 10% of our total registered voters, and does not include Early Voting or mail ballot returns," the department wrote on social media.

Refresh this article for the latest tallies in Prince William County's supervisor and countywide races.

Where To Find Election Results

Unofficial election results are available on the Virginia Department of Elections website. Follow Patch on Election Day for live coverage of local and state election results.

Real-time results are below — use the scroll on the right if all races are not visible. Patch will be updating the results throughout the night as votes are tallied — be sure to refresh the page for the latest updates.

Can't see the widget below? Click here for all Virginia election results.

Read more:

• Candidate Profile: Ryan Kirkpatrick For Prince William School Board
• Candidate Profile: Carrie Rist For PWC School Board Chair
• Candidate Profile: Loree Williams For School Board