Latino voters were encouraged to remember that their votes count at a panel discussion Saturday hosted by the GALEO Institute of Leadership.

Seven candidates spoke about their platforms and the importance of voting at the event held at Sugar Hill United Methodist Church.

"The Latino Community and the Latino electorate has grown," said Jerry Gonzalez, the executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. "It is a force to be reckoned with in the electoral cycle and it's a force that must be respected as well."

Gonzalez said the number of registered Latino voters in Georgia grew from 10,000 in 2003 to 150,000 in 2009.

The event was put on by students in the GALEO Institute of Leadership class. The students were each assigned a project to spread the word about voting, but they decided instead to pool their efforts to put on one large event.

"There wasn't as many people as we might have wished but we set the tone that we can have these kinds of events," said Moises Araya, 18, of Sugar Hill.

"By letting one person know, they can spread the word and that can make a difference," said Mary Calderon, 17, of Buford.

Chad Cobb, the Democratic nominee running to represent District 26 in the Georgia House of Representatives, said it takes only a small number of voters to change the course of an election.

Cobb pointed out that during the last election cycle, the seat he is running for was decided by about 1,000 votes.

In his district, there are 1,400 Latino registered voters.

"With that we can stop the status quo of Georgia's state politics," Cobb said. "Each one of our votes is important."

Democrat Paul Wayne Godfrey, who is running for the Hall County Board of Commissioners, broke into song to tell people about his platform.

"Are you going to be the hammer or are you going to be the nail that gets driven where they want you to go?" Godfrey said. "Su voto es su voz (your vote is your voice)."

In attendance were six Democrats and one Republican, including Mike Parker, a Democrat running to represent Georgia House District 25, State Rep. Pedro Marin, D-Duluth and Joe Martin, a Democrat running for state school superintendent. Candidates from all parties were invited to attend.

Virgilio Perez Pascoe of Cumming was born in Mexico and has been a U.S. citizen since 2006. He attended the event Saturday and asked the candidates questions.

"Regardless of whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, the issues of the immigrant community are a little bit different," Perez Pascoe said.

He said there needs to be better communication between elected officials and the Latino community.

"People are scared to bridge that gap on both sides," Perez Pascoe said.