ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Community members gathered together on Sunday to celebrate their right to vote by bringing Souls to the Polls.

“It's been a long time that we’ve been working together and so today the rSPIRIT online, our radio station, our gospel radio station, and our community is coming together to vote early,” said Laquisha Bridges, radio personality for rSPIRIT.online.

The Souls to the Polls event was organized by rSPIRIT.online to bring community members together to emphasize the importance of exercising the right to vote. 

Voters like Laquisha Bridges met at Rochester City Hall to join together in song and prayer before marching over to the Monroe County office building to cast their votes.

“So the impact is that people together as a unit, come together to just say hey, we’re going to vote and make our vote count, our voice count,” Bridges said.

To show how important it is for everyone to exercise their right to vote.

“It's for everyone it’s every soul. It’s not a color, it's not a race, it's not a religion its Souls to the Polls,” said Bridges. “People are gathering. Everyone from different churches, from around the community. It’s not just one church or one entity, it’s everybody who’s coming together to make a difference.”

Because she knows the difference her vote makes and she wants to show others.

“I can’t complain if I didn't contribute to the voting. I can’t say 'oh something is wrong' or 'they’re not doing right,'” she said. “So we’re hoping to vote and people to hear our voice and speak for us.”

She wants them to see what coming together can do.

“There’s a lot of war, there’s a lot of you know, just issues, so together as one we are showing that we are one and that we are getting people in to help our community.”

It's giving her and others hope for the future. 

“I hope it looks good, I hope it looks bright, I hope it shows that we are unified, that we understand that our vote does count and that people just come together,” Bridges said.