About three dozen people congregated in the courtyard of the state Capitol on Thursday evening to mark the 50th anniversary of the federal Voting Rights Act, legislation passed at the apex of the civil rights movement that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

Led by Alphonso Braggs, president of the Honolulu chapter of the NAACP, the group marched silently around the Capitol after brief remarks were made by community leaders.

“Voting is power, and you should not give up your power,” said local attorney Daphne Barbee-Wooten, citing Hawaii’s low voter turnout numbers.

“Without this power to vote, the government becomes run by (the wealthy). It becomes an oligarchy instead of a democracy.”

Barbee-Wooten noted that while some states have been trending backward in protecting citizens’ right to vote — an appellate court recently found Texas’ voter ID law was in violation of the Voting Rights Act — Hawaii was making progress when it comes to voter registration access.

This week the Hawaii Office of Elections launched an online system that allows people to register to vote, update their registration and request an absentee ballot through its website.

Hawaii also will begin allowing same-day registration beginning in 2018. In the interim, voters will be able to register during early voting beginning next year. Early voting takes place during the 10 days prior to an election.

State Rep. John Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) and Ricardo West, of the community organization Prince Hall Shriners, also made remarks before being led in prayer by Rose Colquitt of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church.

The event kicked off a yearlong initiative by Honolulu’s NAACP to encourage more residents to vote.