How to mobilize voters and coordinate election security in areas off grid — without cell or internet service

Organizing, mobilizing and election protection all depend on communication. How can this be done in rural and low income areas without connectivity?

• Nearly 8 Million Households Remain Offline. Mississippi, West Virginia, and Louisiana trailing the national average - Reviews.org
• The digital divide has profound and tangible consequences that affect millions of Americans in the most essential areas of their lives. From a child’s education and a parent’s job prospects to a senior’s healthcare and a citizen’s ability to engage with their government, the lack of digital access creates and exacerbates inequality. - Gov Facts

Meshtastic is an open-source, decentralized messaging system that uses low-power radio waves to create a private network, completely independent of cell towers, satellites, or the internet. Hundreds of mesh networks already exist. and individual nodes that transmit and receive signals in the mesh are affordable (under $100). The nodes can work on batteries for a year and many companies make Meshtastic nodes.

Meshtastic node networks

How to use a Meshtastic network

You’ll need a bluetooth app on your phone to communicate over Meshtastic and those apps are available for free from the Apple store and Google Marketplace. Open the app on your phone and type in your message. It connects via Bluetooth to your mesh node which sends it by radio signal to other nodes. Nodes will also forward messages to other nodes so you message can reach over 20 miles away. The recipient sees the message on their phone through their app. 

Bridging Meshtastic networks to people with cell and internet service

FastAlert.now from Democracy Labs bridges from the mesh network to the internet. So for instance if a voter in a rural area needs to report an urgent situation they can send it on the mesh network. On the receiving end, miles away, there may be several people who do not have mesh nodes but do have phones and internet access. FastAlert takes the message off the radio signal network and immediately sends it to all the people who need to get that alert on their phones or laptops.

The system is bi-directional: people in rural areas can both send and receive messages from others miles away with Meshtastic and FastAlert.now.

Outreach to rural communities, tribal lands and news deserts

Reporting issues of voter intimidation and election interference

Take Away: Organize in rural and areas with low connectivity using Meshtastic and FastAlert.

Deepak
DemLabs

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Image credit: Pixabay

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