Church ministers, organizational leaders and volunteers gathered Thursday at the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga vowing to organize a citywide effort to register people to vote.

“Many people died for us to have the right to vote,” the Rev. Kevin Adams said. “They passed that right on to us. Have you kept that which has been committed to your trust?”

Mr. Adams was among about 25 people attending Thursday’s Register, Verify and Vote kickoff meeting at the Urban League headquarters on M.L. King Boulevard. The event’s sponsors included the Urban League, the local NAACP chapter and the St. Andrews Center.

The goal is to get as many people registered to vote as possible, said Warren Logan, Urban League president.

For the next 30 days, the coalition will canvass Chattanooga communities to ensure residents are registered to vote and educated about the Election Day process, according to an Urban League news release.

Mr. Logan gave each person present a list of communities, including Piney Woods and Cedar Hill, that have had low voter turnouts in the past. He called on churches to consider using their vans and buses as transportation to get people out to vote.

Julia Anderson, Urban League project manager, encouraged volunteers to knock on doors in high-rise buildings with elderly residents to make sure people were registered and to assist seniors in getting absentee ballots if they are needed.

If the person is at least 65 and has voted in person at least one time, he qualifies for an absentee ballot, Ms. Anderson said. He also qualifies if she is ambulatory, she said.

Students who are away from home but have voted in person at least one time also may qualify for an absentee ballot, Ms. Anderson said.

And an ex-offender with a felony on his record may have an opportunity to have his voting rights restored, depending on the crime, she said.

Urban League officials also distributed voter registration forms. And they encouraged voters who already are registered to verify their registration.

“We have all heard horror stories about people trying to exercise their right to vote,” said James McKissic, the League’s vice president for programs.

The deadline to register to vote in the presidential election is Oct. 6, he said.

“This is a historical time. You never had this degree of diversity (in a presidential election),” Mr. Logan said. “You have a great deal of participation, not only from the standpoint of who is running for the office but because of the issues that affect us all, regardless if we’re black or white.”