Larry David, heading into his final episode of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” received a letter highlighting a plot twist this season on the show: David gave water to a Georgia voter while she waited outside in the searing heat to cast her ballot.
David might term such a person as a “voter waterer.”
The letter, both fawning and needling, came from Georgia’s top election official.
That’s right, he was Raffenspergered.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger offered tongue-in-cheek kudos to David for becoming the first “and to our knowledge, only person” arrested for running afoul of a provision in Georgia’s 2021 voting law forbidding the distribution of food or beverages to voters waiting within 150 feet of a polling site.
The Republican tried to capture the spirit of “Curb” in his tone, and it was pretty, pretty, pretty on the nose.
“We apologize if you didn’t receive celebrity treatment at the local jail,” Raffensperger wrote in a letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through a public records request. “I’m afraid they’ve gotten used to bigger stars. It’s the TMZ of mugshots.”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
In the first episode of the show’s 12th and final season, the cranky protagonist is in Atlanta when he’s arrested after he hands a bottle of water to his friend Leon’s aunt as she stands in the wilting heat waiting to vote.
“You’re under arrest for violation of the Election Integrity Act,” says an officer, who adds: “It is illegal for anyone in the state of Georgia to provide food or water to voters in line in the polls.”
“What?” an incredulous David says as officers grab his arms to drag him away. “That’s barbaric — what kind of law? Are you serious?”
He’s hauled to the Fulton County Jail, where he takes a spray-tanned mug shot modeled off Donald Trump’s famed scowl. “I was just being cordial!” David screams as he’s led away.
He emerges a hero, drawing praise from Stacey Abrams and the actress Sienna Miller over the next few episodes.
The episode brought new attention to the 2021 law, a broad rewrite of voting rules that includes a ban on outside groups distributing refreshments to voters while they’re waiting in line.
It was supported by Republican lawmakers who said voters should be protected from outside influence. The overall package was adopted weeks after the 2020 election amid pressure from Trump and his allies who demanded tighter voter rules after he lost Georgia. The results of the state’s election, giving Democrat Joe Biden the win, were upheld through three recounts and numerous court cases.
While previous state law banned giving money or gifts to voters, it didn’t spell out whether that prohibition applied to distributing food and water. The law also prohibits soliciting votes within 150 feet of a polling location.
Other changes also limit absentee ballot drop boxes, require different forms of ID for absentee voting and allow state takeovers of underperforming county election offices.
But the provision banning distribution of food and drinks has drawn the most attention. Jeff Schaffer, one of the show’s executive producers, told TheWrap he immediately decided to focus on the law after he saw coverage of it in 2021.
“We were always going to Atlanta because of that barbaric law that you can’t give anybody water or food when they’re in line for voting,” Schaffer said. “When we were talking about stories, Larry said: ‘This law is insane. I think it’d be funny if I got arrested for that.’”
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
It led Raffensperger aide Jordan Fuchs, a self-professed David fan, to send a statement defending the restriction as a way to limit “activists’ new and creative tactics to campaign at a polling place and ensures that Fulton County finally takes measures to shorten line times.”
David has waded into politics plenty before, including a Season 10 episode where he wore a pro-Trump MAGA hat as a “people repellent” to avoid annoying interactions in liberal Los Angeles. The actor told CNN last week that he’s personally aghast by Trump.
“I mean, you can’t go a day without thinking about what he’s done to this country,” David said. “Because he’s such a little baby that he’s thrown 250 years of democracy out the window by not accepting the results of an election. I mean, it’s so crazy.”
Raffensperger’s letter, sent last month, went on to encourage David to encourage Leon’s aunt to employ the “chat and cut” strategy to skip places in line — a throwback to a pet peeve of David’s from the show’s eighth season in 2018.
“Given the obvious concern you have about access to voting in Georgia, you’ll be glad to hear that waiting times for all voters, including Leon’s aunt, in the last two major elections were under two minutes, even as we experienced record turnout.”
Raffensperger also invoked his own run-in with Trump in 2021, when the then-president demanded that he “find” just enough votes to overturn the election. His refusal sparked a Trump-backed GOP challenger in 2022 who was crushed in the primary.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
“Whether wanted or unwanted, I know you’ve received a lot of attention related to your actions in a Georgia election. Believe me, I understand,” Raffensperger wrote.
“And while my powers as secretary of state to perform miracles are often overstated,” he wrote, “I’m afraid I lack the authority to grant a pardon — even if you call me to ask for one.”
It’s not yet clear how the series will end, but this season has built toward David’s return to Georgia for his trial.
The “Seinfeld” co-creator knows a thing or two about the pressure of ending a long-running TV sitcom. But he might have given himself the best advice in an earlier episode of “Curb.”
“A good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied.”
Here’s the full text of the letter:
Mr. Larry David:
As the chief elections officer for the State of Georgia, we’d like congratulate you on becoming the first, and to our knowledge, only person arrested for distributing water bottles to voters within 150 feet of a polling station. We apologize if you didn’t receive celebrity treatment at the local jail. I’m afraid they’ve gotten used to bigger stars. It’s the TMZ of mugshots.
Given that Democrats have described the limited ban on food and water in voting lines as a threat to public health, we do hope that Leon’s aunt avoided a tragic death, even though that would allow you to keep those sporty glasses. Moving forward, we would encourage her to avoid long lines by employing the well known “chat and cut,” whereby one engages an acquaintance in fake conversation in order to join that person in line.
Given the obvious concern you have about access to voting in Georgia, you’ll be glad to hear that waiting times for all voters, including Leon’s aunt, in the last two major elections were under two minutes, even as we experienced record turnout.
Whether wanted or unwanted, I know you’ve received a lot of attention related to your actions in a Georgia election. Believe me, I understand. And while my powers as secretary of state to perform miracles are often overstated, I’m afraid I lack the authority to grant a pardon — even if you call me to ask for one.
Yours truly,
Brad Raffensperger
