Raffensperger pokes Larry David over Georgia arc in 'Curb': 'Gotten used to bigger stars'
Georgia's top election official couldn't curb his enthusiasm over his state's role the final season of Larry David's popular HBO show.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger penned a letter to David poking fun at a critical plot point in "Curb Your Enthusiasm": David, who plays an exaggerated version of himself in the show, was arrested for giving a bottle of water to an acquaintance who was standing in line to vote in Atlanta, violating state election law.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported it received a copy of the letter through a public records request. It contains several jokes about the show, pointed at David, and even alludes to former President Trump, who faces charges in Georgia related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Trump had his mug shot taken at the Fulton County jail in August, and David's mug shot in the show deliberately looks like Trump's.
In the letter, Raffensperger congratulated David "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," he wrote.
"Given the obvious concern you have about access to voting in Georgia, you’ll be glad to hear that waiting times for all voters … in the last two major elections were under two minutes, even as we experienced record turnout," Raffensperger continued.
In the first episode of this season, David hands a bottle of water to his friend Leon's aunt, who is in line at a polling place. He is quickly approached by officers, who notify him he has violated the state's 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," one officer informs him.
As he is being hauled off, David is confounded by the nature of the law, which was adopted in 2021.
"That’s barbaric — what kind of law?" he protests. "Are you serious?”
Raffensperger is not the first Georgia official to respond to the "Curb" plot line. In February, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) denounced the show for depicting Trump supporters as "racists and red necks."
“I watched this week’s episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and it was a glaring reminder of why most Georgian’s resent Republicans in our state for inviting the nasty commies from California, the Hollywood elites, into our state by dishing out Hollywood tax credits,” Greene said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.