Larry David has long embraced awkward and outrageous situations, while playing a larger-than-life version of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm. But David’s faux arrest for handing out a bottle of water in an election line in Atlanta is grounded in reality, even while being played for laughs.
In the Max show’s new season premiere, the curmudgeonly star discovers his friend Leon’s aunt, who’s been waiting in a long voting line under the hot Georgia sun for over two hours. He offers her a bottle of water, only to be abruptly confronted by law enforcement.
“Sir, in the navy blazer, put your hands in the air,” a police officer says to David. “You’re under arrest for violation of the Election Integrity Act. It is illegal for anyone in the state of Georgia to provide food or water to voters in line in the polls.”
“What?” exclaims Mr. David as the officers lead him to their squad car. “That’s barbaric–what kind of law, are you serious?”
It’s serious, alright.
It has been illegal for anyone other than election workers to hand out water or food near voting sites in Georgia since the passage of SB 202, known as the Election Integrity Act, in March 2021. The 98-page law’s series of election provisions includes limiting the use of ballot drop boxes, expanding in-person early voting, and barring officials from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms.
And yes, it also prohibits handing out food or water to voters within 150 feet of a polling place or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line. Violators are subject to a misdemeanor charge that is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The law’s proponents say it protects voters from attempts to influence their decisions just before reaching the ballot box, citing food trucks parked outside polling places during the 2020 presidential election and U.S. Senate runoffs. After he signed it, Gov. Brian Kemp said the law would “ensure elections in Georgia are secure, fair and accessible.”
“SB 202 successfully bans the activists’ new and creative tactics to campaign at a polling place and ensures that Fulton County finally takes measures to shorten line times,” said Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs in a statement to the New York Times responding to the episode. “While I am personally a big Larry David fan, the show is meant to entertain, not reflect reality here in Georgia.”
That’s partially true, but only because of a more recent court ruling. After the Election Integrity Act passed, voting rights groups sued Georgia, arguing that handing out water in voting lines, known as “line relief” or “line warming,” was protected speech encouraging people to vote.
In September, a federal judge, J.P. Boulee, upheld the 150-foot zone outside polling places where food and drinks cannot be given out, but he struck down the restriction on distributing them to people within 25 feet of voters standing in line. “Line relief activities” are First Amendment-protected “expressive conduct,” the judge ruled.
That said, in the Curb Your Enthusiasm scenario David likely still ran afoul of the current law, because he appeared to be less than 150 feet away from the polling place.
The show’s executive producer, Jeff Schaffer, said in a recent interview that the writers decided to incorporate the Georgia law as a storyline after it passed two years ago. “When we were talking about stories, Larry said: ‘This law is insane. I think it’d be funny if I got arrested for that.’”
David’s mug shot from the episode is meant to evoke Donald Trump’s booking photo from his appearance at Fulton County Jail last August, after the former president was indicted on charges of election interference. However, the Curb character’s jail stay is longer. Trump reportedly only spent 20 minutes there before being released on bond.
The parts they got wrong are “it’s illegal for ANYONE to hand out water…”. As the story later clarifies, people can get water from the polling location. Also, while November in Georgia might be mild, it’s never hot, so the “sweltering under the hot Georgia sun” line is unrealistic. Readers should know that, while ballot drop boxes were allowed during COVID and then many were removed by this law, the new law now REQUIRES every county in the state to have at least one drop box.
Most elections are held more often than every fourth November. You may only be concerned with presidential elections but there are many citizens who are more concerned with local elections. This law is directly violating the freedom of the American people and I applaud Larry David for the acknowledgment.
an individual can bring water to a friend. What cant happen is for politicians or parties to hand out water as Politicking in GA is illegal.
Bobloblaw that is my understanding as to how the law works. However I’m having a hard time finding evidence of where that is specifically stated.
I love Larry David, he is so hilarious! 🙂
Oh, please, everyone knows this is solely about trying to get Black people not to vote. If Georgia officials could get away with posting Klansman with slave whips outside every polling place, they would.
Non-blacks don’t drink water? Interesting take
The GA election integrity law replaced signature matching requirements on absentee ballots with voter identification requirements, limits the use of ballot drop boxes, expands in-person early voting, bars officials from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms, reduces the amount of time people have to request an absentee ballot, increases voting stations or staff and equipment where there have been long lines, makes it a crime for outside groups to give free food or water to voters waiting in line IN ORDER TO SOLICIT VOTES. That’s not what Larry did in CYE. It’s a good law aimed at stopping elections being rigged and stolen.
“IN ORDER TO SOLICIT VOTES.”
I understand there are laws against soliciting within 150 ft but why are we assuming food trucks are soliciting votes? Patronizing much? This is insulting to the people in Georgia who have what? The gall to have food trucks on Election Day? How dare they! How dare they have a sense of competition and civic fun. How dare they be so calculated and hard-working. This law was created by the people who can’t win, in an effort to suppress those who are. Who are you, to deem these people swayed by food trucks to vote for someone? As opposed to simply taking care of each other and fulfilling their civic duty and having fun while doing so. God forbid they have a good time exercising their right to vote.
Even IF someone was, let’s say, convinced to vote a certain way because they got a free BBQ chicken sandwich, that shouldn’t be illegal. It’s benign competition. You want to talk about rigging elections? Hello January 6th? The tactics deployed by Trump and Republicans ARE actually disgusting and illegal, or at least should be. Purging people from voting rolls? Closing down poling locations so that people have to be burdened to vote? Wake up. Open up your eyes. And think about it. Soliciting people to come out and vote, providing them with dinner, is not the same thing as soliciting people to vote for a particular candidate and it’s certainly not intimidating them. No one can be compelled to vote for someone against their will. Our elections are protected and anonymous in the booth where it counts. As long as there is no insignia or flyers or other electioneering, there is no real grounds for saying people can’t provide others with food and water. Period.
I am, however, happy to hear some of the other provisions of the law. 🙂
No one has ever been arrested for doing what Larry did on the show. The law only prohibits political groups from trying to influence voters by giving gifts, including water, while in a voting line. So Larry wrote a whole season of the show based on his own ignorance or he is knowingly lying.
But where do you draw the line and discriminate between when people are giving out water, unaffiliated, not saying anything, not soliciting, and when they are? Who is responsible for policing that? This law made a blanket ban on providing food or water because that’s indicative of solicitation? It’s assumed? That’s insulting. Unless you can show intent to solicit with that free food and water, you shouldn’t be able to arrest someone then right? Is it illegal or not? Hypothetically, it has happened, police will arrest people not truly understanding these vague laws which are open to interpretation. If it shouldn’t be illegal to give someone free food and water provided there is no solicitation, this law could be violating our right to do just that. It’s a question I’m seriously asking. This storyline could very well be realistic.
Question, if you bring a cooler of water, leave the lid open, and turn your back, then people take water of their own accord, but you don’t report the crime of ‘stealing water’, are you really giving it away?