Television comedies like “Veep” and “Parks and Recreation” have lengthy poked enjoyable on the absurdities of nationwide and native politics, however it’s uncommon for them to zero in on the high quality print of legal guidelines handed by state legislatures.
So it was stunning that the top of Sunday evening’s season premiere of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — look out, spoilers coming — took fairly, fairly, fairly clear goal on the main voting legislation Georgia handed in 2021.
The episode highlights a provision of the laws that successfully bars third-party teams or anybody else who will not be an election employee from offering meals and water to voters ready in line inside a 150-foot radius of a polling place.
Larry David, who because the present’s curmudgeonly star is best recognized for breaking social norms than precise legal guidelines, travels to Atlanta within the episode. Toward the top, he should go discover the aunt of Leon, his good friend and roommate, and return a pair of glasses that he had been pressured to borrow from her.
He locates her in a line to vote, sweating within the sweltering Georgia warmth, the place she says she’s been ready for greater than two and a half hours. Larry, incredulous, remembers he has just a few water bottles in his automotive and brings her some water.
Instantly, police lights flash.
“Sir, in the navy blazer, put your hands in the air,” an officer says to a confused Mr. David. “You’re under arrest for violation of the Election Integrity Act.” He provides, “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 because the officers lead him away, gripping his arms. “That’s barbaric, what kind of law, are you serious?”
The episode ends with a mug shot of Mr. David, copping a glare and tan harking back to former President Donald J. Trump within the photograph taken after he was booked in Georgia in August.
Violating the meals and water ban in Georgia is a misdemeanor, punishable by as much as 12 months in jail and a most high quality of $1,000, although it’s unlikely that somebody who ran afoul of that provision can be taken away in a police automotive. (Campaigning throughout the zone, in any other case generally known as “electioneering,” can be a distinct story.)
“While I am personally a big Larry David fan, the show is meant to entertain, not reflect reality here in Georgia,” Jordan Fuchs, the deputy secretary of state in Georgia, stated in an announcement. “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.”
Sunday’s episode was not the primary time Mr. David — who final week tried to strangle Elmo on the “Today” present, rationalizing afterward that “somebody had to do it!” — has used “Curb” for political commentary.
In the earlier season, he left an extended line to vote, concluding that he and the voter forward of him in line who was supporting the opposite candidate would cancel one another out, and due to this fact there was little level in casting a poll. Mr. David’s most popular candidate misplaced by one vote.
In one other episode, the cantankerous Mr. David realizes that sporting a “Make America Great Again” hat round liberal Los Angeles will get him out of many undesirable conferences and interactions.
In an interview with TheWrap, one of many present’s government producers stated that its writing staff had determined to by some means incorporate the Georgia legislation again when it handed two years in the past.
“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,” stated the producer, Jeff Schaffer. “When we were talking about stories, Larry said: ‘This law is insane. I think it’d be funny if I got arrested for that.’”