Kamala Harris on Sunday summoned churchgoers to turn out at the polls and got a helping hand from music legend Stevie Wonder, who rallied the congregation with a rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.

Democratic US presidential nominee Ms Harris visited two Atlanta area churches as part of a nationwide push known as “souls to the polls”, a mobilisation effort led by the National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders, which is sending representatives across battleground states to encourage early voting.

After services, buses took people straight to early polling stations.

At both churches, Ms Harris delivered a message about kindness and lifting people up rather than trashing them, trying to set up an implicit contrast with Republican Donald Trump’s brash style.

Stevie Wonder plays on stage
Stevie Wonder performed during a church service and early vote event (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

With just 16 days left until election day, Ms Harris is running out of time to get across her message to a public still getting to know her after a truncated campaign.

“There is so much at stake right now,” she said at the Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro.

“We understand for us to do good works, it means to do it in the spirit of understanding that our strength is not based on who we beat down, as some would try to suggest. Our strength is based on who we lift up. And that spirit is very much at stake in these next 16 days.”

Stevie Wonder led the crowd in singing his version of Happy Birthday to the vice president, who turned 60 on Sunday.

When he finished she appeared to choke up, saying: “I love you so much.”

Wonder grinned and said “don’t cry” before telling the crowd how important it was for people to get out and vote.

“We’re going to make the difference between yesterday and tomorrow,” he said.

Ms Harris later said that she “had to check off a whole big one” on her bucket list because of Wonder, which prompted the singer to spring up and lead the congregation in a quick verse of Higher Ground.