Meet the Woman Fighting for the Rights of Voters Who Can’t Read

For decades, conservative politicians have passed laws to make it harder for voters who struggle to read to cast a ballot and discourage anyone trying to help them. Olivia Coley-Pearson knows this better than most. She has been criminally charged twice in the past decade for her attempts to help people navigate their ballots; she has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing. Now 60, she serves as a city commissioner in Douglas, the majority-Black seat of Coffee County, where a third of the population struggles to read. On the day of Georgia’s primary elections in May, she woke up at 4 a.m. to rally voters and volunteer. ProPublica followed her to capture what it takes to ensure that voters who need help can get it.
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