Georgia Secretary of State Jokes He Can’t Pardon Larry David for ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Voting Law Plot

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has penned a letter to Larry David after “Curb Your Enthusiasm” included the state as a key plot point in the HBO comedy’s final season.

In the Season 12 premiere, the “Seinfeld” creator lands in hot water with Georgia authorities after inadvertently breaking state law by giving water to Auntie Rae (Ellia English) while she was waiting in line to vote. The episode, titled “Atlanta,” concluded with David recreating Donald Trump’s infamous 2023 mugshot from his own Georgia arrest — spray tan and all!

“As the chief elections officer for the State of Georgia, we’d like to 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,” Raffensperger joked in a letter obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“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,” his letter continued. “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.”

Raffensperger went on to note that the state has seen record turnout in its last two elections, adding that wait times for all voters have been under two minutes. However, he declined to save David from his looming trial related to the incident.

“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,” the letter concluded. “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. “

Raffensperger is just the latest Georgia official to weigh in on the episode. In a statement given to the New York Times after the Feb. 4 premiere, Georgia’s Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs said, “While I am personally a big Larry David fan, the show is meant to entertain, not reflect reality here in Georgia. 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.”

Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene also slammed the show for painting conservatives and Trump supporters as “racists and red necks,” and for making fun of “our good new law that stops the Stacey Abrams vote pandering machine and prevents voter fraud.”

“I watched this week’s episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and it was a glaring reminder of why most Georgian’s [sic] resent Republicans in our state for inviting the nasty commies from California, the Hollywood elites, into our state by dishing out Hollywood tax credits,” she wrote on X in February.

“Curb” executive producer Jeff Schaffer previously told TheWrap that the Atlanta storyline had been written into the season for quite some time, but noted that the Trump mugshot joke came after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended.

“We were always going to Atlanta because of the that barbaric law that you can’t give anybody water or food when they’re in line for voting,” Schaffer told TheWrap. “When we were talking about stories, Larry said, ‘This law is insane. I think it’d be funny if I got arrested for that.’”

Schaffer said he and David only learned about the Trump news after filming on the entire season already concluded.

“Trump gets caught with one of his many hands in one of the many cookie jars, and I remember just walking in and I said to Larry, ‘This is crazy. You’re in Atlanta, he’s in Atlanta, you just got arrested. Let’s do this!’” he continued. “We had to wait until the strike was over to even be able to shoot Larry looking like our former Oompa Loompa. So it came completely afterwards.”

On Sunday, “Curb” will air its series finale, concluding a 24-year run. In addition to David, Season 12 stars J.B. Smoove, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, Vince Vaughn and Tracey Ullman.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is available to stream on Max.

The post Georgia Secretary of State Jokes He Can’t Pardon Larry David for ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Voting Law Plot appeared first on TheWrap.