With so much going on, it’s hard to know what to do or how to do it. Our weekly newsletters gather as much information as we can find and organize it to make taking action as easy and accessible as possible. You don’t have to do ALL the things, but you should do SOMETHING. Our most current edition is below, and you can sign up to receive future newsletters here.

September 20, 2026

The Hands Off NYC Community Weekend of Action has been a great opportunity for us to bring new people into our movement and remind ourselves that we are not alone in the struggle against a violent and corrupt regime. We began the crucial task of talking about the long game – defending our elections from sabotage, in solidarity with voters everywhere who come under attack.

The Trump regime is sending ICE and the FBI after organizers and poll workers, attacking mail-in voting, redrawing our maps, fabricating claims of voter fraud, and threatening to have federal forces intervene during the election. They would like nothing better than for voters to just stay home.

But we will not be discouraged. We will not give in to their fascist plans to sabotage the midterms. Together, we will win.

New York City is the center of power, culture, and finance in the U.S. Our city has the largest population and exercises the greatest influence. Our actions for the rest of 2026 and into January will have a national impact on the outcome of the elections and the future of democracy.

We New Yorkers have a unique responsibility to support voters in the rest of the country as they defend against election sabotage. We cannot allow the regime’s attacks to be ignored, dismissed, or normalized.

Come join the fight! Sign up to get trained on election protection as a poll monitor, or on election sabotage response using peaceful protest. Volunteer for a voter registration drive, a phone bank, a canvass, a rally, a fundraiser.

How will you take action?

Your Top actions for this week

1. Election Sabotage Response Training: Tuesday, September 22 at 6pm. Location will be provided to registrants. The attacks on our election are deeply tied to the attacks on our communities. Hands Off NYC will prepare you for what it means to take action to defend our elections and our communities while fighting for a better future. We’ll dive into what's going on right now, the power we have to stop it, and practice some of those skills together. Expect to move around, meet other members, and join us for follow up actions as we prepare to enforce the election results and build a future of dignity for all. No experience required. RSVP here.

2. Be a Democracy MVP: Thursday, September 24 at 6:30pm in Gowanus. Join Indivisible Brooklyn, BKForge, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, and Arts4Choice for an evening in support of Movement Voter PAC's efforts to protect our democracy by pushing back against bad-faith tactics in politics. Every dollar we raise goes to MVP, which funds local grassroots groups across the country doing the work to win swingable districts. Bring your friends, bring your family, and join us for a fun night . . . and help build the biggest Blue Wave possible to make 2026 too big to rig! Enjoy food, activities, and an exciting raffle. Cash bar – drink tickets included at some ticket tiers. RSVP or make a contribution here.

3. Canvass to Flip NJ-7 with Indivisible Brooklyn and Brooklyn Resisters: Sunday, September 27 at 12pm in Westfield, NJ. Join us in talking with voters in nearby NJ as we build the grassroots movement to take back Congress! Volunteers will go out into the community to listen to voters’ concerns about the issues facing the district and to share Rebecca Bennett’s vision for NJ-7. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned canvasser, you will receive training, materials, and support before heading out. We will organize carpools leaving from Brooklyn around 10:45am. RSVP here and an organizer will reach out about finding a ride.

Upcoming Events

Indivisible Phone Bank for Iowa: Monday, September 21 at 6:30pm on Zoom. Join Indivisible to make calls into Iowa! Let’s share the exciting reasons to support Josh Turek for Senate and candidates for Congress Christina Bohannan, Lindsay James, and Sarah Trone Garriott. Empower voters with information about when, where, and how to vote, including early voting, to send real fighters to Washington! In-depth training will be included at the beginning of each phone bank. RSVP here. And find more Indivisible phone banks for the weeks ahead here.

Unplug AI Week of Action: Monday, September 21 - Wednesday, September 23 in Manhattan; Thursday, September 24 at 6pm in Gowanus. Join our coalition partners during Climate Week to target Big Tech companies behind the data center boom raising our energy bills, depleting our water supplies, polluting our communities, and creating a massive demand for fossil fuels. RSVP here.

Weekly Vigil for Democracy at Brooklyn’s ICE Jail: Tuesday, September 22 at 6pm in Sunset Park. Join INBK and our fellow organizers at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge for our weekly vigil outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (Third Ave. & 29th St.), where 200 of our abducted neighbors have been imprisoned. Let’s stand firm against the inhumane treatment of our neighbors, and call for the release of all ICE detainees. Sing songs of resistance and bring signs to bear witness in solidarity. Learn about opportunities to support families of detained people during visitation hours. RSVP here to stay updated. See our full vigil list and make a plan to bring folks with you to one of these events.

Telling the Story of Election Protection: Wednesday, September 23 at 8pm on Zoom. Join No Kings for a training on how to talk about early voting and election protection through grounded, historical narratives that honor those who came before us and those most impacted by voter suppression today. When the next generation asks “What did you do when they tried to take away our right to vote?” You will be able to share how you protected our elections. RSVP here.

NYC Rally to Tell Hochul: Nuclear Power Is NOT a Climate Solution: Thursday, September 24 at 12pm in Manhattan. Join our coalition partners during Climate Week to deliver thousands of public comments to Governor Hochul's office demanding she abandon her dangerous scheme to approve billions in subsidies to build nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy is expensive, toxic, risky, generates huge quantities of hazardous waste and radioactive air pollution, and poses the threat of catastrophic accidents. RSVP here.

Train Your Neighbors - Hands Off NYC Ambassador Program: Thursday, September 24 at 6pm on Zoom. If you’re ready to prepare yourself and your neighbors to stand up as unified New Yorkers, join the Hands Off NYC Ambassador Program. This training will prepare you to train your neighbors on the risks we all face, what we’re doing in response, and how they can join the fight. You’ll leave with concrete steps to grow our collective strength across NYC. As an Ambassador you’ll be part of a citywide web of trained, connected neighbors ready to move together when it matters. RSVP here.

Fated States & Indivisible Phone Bank Party #2: Saturday, September 26 at 1pm on Zoom. Join Jen and Sarah, hosts of the Fated Mates Podcast, with Indivisible’s Podcasters Save Democracy, for the second event in their weekly series. We will be calling into Texas, where voters need to hear about James Talarico and his campaign for US Senate! Register, receive training prepping you for the calls, and talk with voters, all while sharing favorite moments from our favorite books! We’ll have giveaways, surprises, and so much fun! RSVP here.

Table to Stop Data Centers: Sunday, September 27 at various times in Brooklyn. Join Food & Water Watch at a neighborhood street festival and talk with neighbors about how we can pass a data center moratorium. We’ll collect petitions urging Governor Hochul to sign legislation to protect New Yorkers from these costly and dangerous projects — and have a LOT of fun doing it. RSVP here for a shift at the Flatbush Frolic and RSVP here for a shift at the Atlantic Antic.

Win the Midterms Meetup with Brad Lander: Sunday, September 27 at 3pm in Brooklyn. Join Swing Left and Brad Lander for an interactive strategy session on Ground Truth – our program to win back power from Republicans and rebuild the trust Democrats need to win and keep winning. We live a short drive from several swing districts that could decide who controls the House next year and the work we do now is make or break for our democracy. RSVP here.

More Ways to Resist this week

Tell Gov. Hochul to sign the Hands Off Our Vote legislation into law! This past year, the NYS legislature has passed bills to help protect our elections. With the midterms approaching, we need Gov. Hochul to sign those bills into law. Lengthy voting disruptions — deliberate or otherwise — can disenfranchise communities, distort results, and undermine public confidence. So let’s ensure that local bipartisan election officials extend the time for voting at impacted polling places when an emergency or other disruption to voting lasts more than one hour. Use this tool to send an email to the Governor.

Join Indivisible’s Hands Off Our Vote team. Hands Off Our Vote is Indivisible’s national program to ensure all eligible voters get to cast their ballot, every ballot is counted, and the results are honored. By signing up, you’ll become a part of the biggest election protection program in Indivisible’s history. And even if the elections are secure where you live, you can help protect at-risk voters in targeted areas during rapid-response moments and be a trusted messenger against the flood of disinformation. RSVP here.

Help recruit poll observers in swing states. Here’s a great way to support voter protection in a battleground state and make an immediate impact: calling people who’ve volunteered with Voter Protection before and inviting them to serve as Poll Observers this fall! Phonebanks are taking place 4x per week and nearly half of the people we've talked with have said YES! Find a shift that works for you and RSVP here.

Write letters to voters with Vote Forward. Vote Forward has effective ways to connect with voters and increase civic participation by writing letters from anywhere. Vote Forward has refined some old tactics and is piloting some new forms of outreach, all based on what we know works and scaled up to the environment in 2026. Get started here.

Stop Hochul from diverting public education funding to private school vouchers. We need to show Gov. Hochul that New Yorkers stand for strong public schools. At the moment, she’s planning to opt into a new federal voucher program that would weaken our public school system. Support New York's public schools by signing the petition here.

Stand with the families of ICE detainees. ICE is out in full force to abduct our neighbors from city streets. You can learn about the families we are partnering with in South Brooklyn on standwithsouthbrooklyn.org, which includes GoFundMes. If you are able, giving even just $10 to each of the families at the top of the page would help our neighbors stay housed, cover living expenses, and support their detained loved ones. If you prefer to give to an organization, we recommend MiTlalli or our South Brooklyn Legal Support Fund, used for commissary and legal support. To support individuals detained in Metropolitan Detention Center and their families, donate to MDC Brooklyn Community Support here.

In solidarity,
The INBK crew

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