Residents were encouraged to register to vote Saturday at an event hosted by the Penn Northeast Conference in Palmerton.

The table at the registration event included voting applications to be mailed to the Carbon County Board of Elections as well as applications for absentee ballots and mail-in ballot applications.

People who already registered were also encouraged to attend and have their registrations checked as well as the status of their mail-in ballots.

Event host and minister of the PNEC Bonnie Bates stated the importance of PNEC holding the event, saying, “We have a deep commitment in the church to assure that people practice their civil rights and that folks participate in the democratic process, and so it’s important for us to help people engage in that process. So checking their voter registration, registering to vote, doing absentee ballots, all those things feel really important to us. They’re especially important in presidential election years, but it’s always important.”

Bates also said that people of faith have various opinions regarding the political process, social issues and government activities, and that religion does not require them to necessarily share the same political stances.

“Often there’s a particular faith perspective that’s shared in the media. I think we have to be much more balanced than that because I think just like people who are not in faith communities have differences of opinion, people in faith communities also have differences of opinion and we all need to be heard.”

POWER Civil Engagement Manager Rodney Bushe was also in attendance to assist with the voting registration event. Bushe described the mission of POWER as an interfaith organization based in the Lehigh Valley which addresses the injustices which are happening in the community. With the upcoming election, their current goal is focused around promoting voter registration and encouraging people to check their registration statuses.

Bushe explained the importance of voting saying, “The right to vote is something that people have fought and died over and it’s our duty. If you don’t vote, you’re leaving power on the table.

No matter what side of the table you’re on, you don’t want to leave that power on it.”

Palmerton resident Mike Riley was one person who registered to vote during the event. He felt as if it was his civic responsibility to vote and stated that he “hopes to see change in the country” following the election.

Voters have until Oct. 19 to register to vote and until Oct. 31 to fill out their census forms. For information regarding registration status, visit www.pavoterservices.pa.gov.