GVI Weekly Actions & Events

September 15, 2026

Call Your Senators Before 2:15 This Afternoon

The Senate is back in Washington, and at 2:15 this afternoon it takes a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act, the crypto market-structure bill. Moving it forward takes sixty votes, so the margin is narrow. What’s still unsettled is the ethics language covering the president and his family’s own crypto holdings, and that’s the part Indivisible has been organizing against.

Both of New York’s senators are Democrats, and both offices take calls by phone and through their websites. It’s about a ninety-second call, and staffers keep a tally of which way they run.

Script format: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent in Livingston County. I’m calling to ask the Senator to vote no on cloture for the CLARITY Act. The bill still doesn’t address the president’s family’s crypto interests, and it shouldn’t move forward until it does. Thank you.”

Phone numbers and web contact forms for both are on the Senate’s own directory. If you reach a full voicemail box, the web form goes to the same office.

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Meet the Democratic Candidates, September 24

All three Democrats on the ballot will be at the Livingston County Government Building, Room 205, 6 Court Street in Geneseo on Thursday, September 24, taking questions from the audience. Doors open at 6:15 and the program starts at 7:00. We’re co-hosting with the Geneseo Democratic Committee.

• Alissa Ellman — Congress, NY-24
• Michael Mills — State Senate, NY-54
• Gladys Flores Garcia — New York State Assembly, 133

The room holds about sixty and we’d like to fill it, so bring a neighbor, and bring a question you actually want answered. We’re collecting non-perishable food for the Geneseo/Groveland Emergency Food Pantry at the door as well.

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Two Rallies for Peace, September 21 and September 26

Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace and Peace Action Geneseo are hosting both of these at the Veterans Memorial on Main Street in Geneseo, in the Village Park. All are welcome at either one. Both are nonpartisan, so bring messages of peace and justice and leave the campaign signs at home for these two.

First is the International Day of Peace rally on Monday, September 21, 5:00 to 6:00 PM. No RSVP needed — just come and bring a sign if you have one.

The second rally, on Saturday, September 26, commemorates the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (start time TBD). GVI, Citizens for Peace, DSA and Peace Action Geneseo are each giving a short speech. GVI has also been invited to speak, and that slot is still open. It’s a few minutes at the microphone rather than a keynote, so if you’ve got something to say about nuclear weapons you can email us and take it.

Earlier on the 26th, Peace Action Geneseo will run a Safety Marshal Training Class from 10:00 AM to noon in Bailey Hall 101 at the college. Marshals keep things safe and organized and direct crowds as needed. They’re a good part of why our events pass without any drama. About a dozen of the thirty seats are taken, so there’s plenty of room, and new marshals trained that day can work the October rallies. Sign up here.

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Canvassing Training, Thursdays and Fridays

The Ellman campaign is running canvassing training on Zoom twice a week from now through late October, so you can pick whichever one fits your week. Thursdays at 7:30 PM (register here) and Fridays at 5:30 PM (register here).

The session walks you through putting the MiniVAN app on your phone and reading a walk list, which gets refreshed overnight every Sunday for each county. If you’re not sure how to start, ask about the Check Who’s Close feature, which shows you the voters nearest you so you can begin with people you may already know. The campaign is putting weekly county coordination meetings together now.

The Livingston County Democratic Committee is the place to start for canvassing anywhere in the county, and it has been the one handing out the walking lists for the towns. Its campaign headquarters is at 128 Main Street in Geneseo, and the LCDC website lists the current ways to volunteer.

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GVI Is Looking for an Assistant Treasurer

Indivisible National now asks groups like ours to name an Assistant Treasurer alongside the Treasurer, and GVI is looking to fill the position in the next few weeks. Training comes with it. If you are interested, please send us a message! (Phil promises it does not entail a lot of work!)

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Coming Up

Tue, Sep 15	Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act — call before it happens 2:15 PM · call Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand	Contacts
Wed, Sep 16	No Kings: Vote Early — Introduction to the October 17 Day of Action 8:00–9:00 PM · online	RSVP
Thu, Sep 17	No regular meeting — pop-up rally in Warsaw 3:30–6:30 PM, come any time · on the bridge by Yummies, Route 20A, Warsaw · wear your Bills gear · park at the elementary school (enter the lot from West Court St), in the municipal lot, on the street, or at NAPA
Thu, Sep 17	Pizza and pop after the Warsaw rally — Go Bills! 6:00 PM · 49 Linwood Ave, Warsaw · park around the corner at the Catholic church on North Street, or on the street
Fri, Sep 18	Alianza Agrícola Ally Monthly Meeting 3rd Friday of the month · on Zoom	Contact
Sat, Sep 19	Stand Up, Fight Back Saturdays — Geneseo 12:00–1:00 PM · Gateway Corner Park, Geneseo · bring your best signs for Alissa Ellman!	Details
Sun, Sep 20	Ewing Forum: how elections are actually secured 4:00 PM · Fort Hill Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua · Ben Spear and Kathleen McGrath of the NYS Board of Elections, moderated by Evan Dawson · ticketed: $35.36 card, $34 cash	Details
Mon, Sep 21	Rally for Peace — International Day of Peace 5:00–6:00 PM · Veterans Memorial, Village Park, Main St, Geneseo · hosted by Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace and Peace Action Geneseo
Thu, Sep 24	Meet the Democratic Candidates — no regular meeting this week Doors 6:15, program 7:00 PM · Livingston County Government Building, Room 205, 6 Court St, Geneseo	Details
Thu, Sep 24	No Kings: Vote Early — How to Host High-Impact, High-Engagement Events 8:00–9:00 PM · online · after the meet-and-greet lets out	RSVP
Sat, Sep 26	Marshal training 10:00 AM–noon · Bailey Hall 101, SUNY Geneseo · hosted by Peace Action Geneseo	Sign up
Sat, Sep 26	Rally — International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Start time to come · Veterans Memorial, Village Park, Main St, Geneseo · GVI has a speaking slot open

Saturday, October 24 is the last day to register to vote and also the first day of early voting, so anyone who hasn’t registered yet can sign up and cast a ballot in the same visit to the Livingston County Board of Elections, 6 Court Street, Room 104, Geneseo.

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A Few Short Things

• Yard signs are at the printer. The Ellman campaign sent word on September 9 that the new design has gone to printing and several thousand signs will be ready to hand out in about two weeks. They’re free. We’ll say where to pick one up as soon as we know.
• Election protection training is open to anyone. Indivisible National’s Hands Off Our Vote campaign has the overview, Common Cause runs New York State volunteer training, and there are recordings of Election Protection 101 and 201 if you’d rather watch at your own pace.
• Indivisible’s co-founders made the affordability case in The Guardian last week, arguing that affordability and accountability are the two things that win in November. Worth ten minutes if you’re heading out to knock on doors.

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Saturday Events

Four different actions ran on Saturday the 12th, three of ours and one from Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace: the circle in Avon, the overpass at 390, Gateway Corner Park, and the sidewalk outside the Democratic headquarters on Main Street, with the weather holding all day.

Avon

The line at Village Circle Park ran along the curb through the middle of the day, small flags stuck in the grass down the length of it, with printed Alissa Ellman for Congress signs mixed in with homemade ones — a hand-lettered VOTE FOR ELLMAN, NOV. 3 and a PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION among them. Marshals in orange vests worked the line the way they always do. The cycle challenge and the farm festival were both running that day, so a fair share of the cars coming through the village belonged to visitors.

Over 390

The NYS Midterm Bannering Project recognizes that the harm caused by the Trump Administration affects everyone, including his supporters. The single, most-effective response is for Democrats to take back the House and Senate on 11/3/26. We urge everyone to vote to stop the chaos and damage.

Gateway Corner Park

Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace took the same project to Gateway Corner Park, across from Wegmans, running 11:30 to 1:00. They hung WE CAN DO BETTER, YOUR VOTE MATTERS along the fence by the college sign and held FOOD, GAS, VOTE and NO 4EVER WAR out toward the road, with hand-lettered WORLD PEACE and MAKE GOOD TROUBLE signs propped in the grass beside them.

Main Street

The table outside the Livingston County Democratic headquarters at 128 Main Street ran under a tent, with registration forms and literature out front and a set of hand-made boards laying out what’s in the budget bill and how the votes went. There was also an I WILL VOTE THIS YEAR oval with the middle of the O cut out for photographs, and a dachshund in an orange bandana sat in it for at least one of those. All of it ran through the E Pluribus Music Festival in the Village Park up the street, where we had a second table going — a nonpartisan voter registration one, under the festival tent.

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Forty-Nine Days

That’s what’s left between this email and November 3. Postcards keep going out at the Thursday tables, the flyers for the 24th are printed, and the drop cards and literature ride along to every rally and table we set up, and all of that is printing and postage.

And if you’re giving political money this fall, the campaign itself is still where it works hardest. Contribute to Alissa Ellman here.

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Same Time, Every Week

• Geneseo Visibles — Wed & Fri, 4:00 PM, Gateway Corner Park
• Hemlock Rising protest — Wed, 4:30 PM, Rt 15A & Rt 20A
• What’s the Plan? — Thu, 3:00 PM  Register

Full calendar & ongoing ways to plug in →

Postcards, every week. Email Phil at paj12147@gmail.com to get a batch to write at home, or write them at the Thursday meeting — the Artist’s Team keeps a postcard station going. Order by Wednesday for Thursday’s meeting. The suggested donation for a packet of 10 postcards with stamps and an address list is now $7.00.

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