Can You Get Arrested For Handing Out Food And Drink At Polling Places?

It's called electioneering, and the rules are different in every state.

Fans of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will remember a scene from the 2024 season that saw Larry David handing a water bottle to a woman waiting in line to vote at a Georgia polling location, only to be immediately questioned and arrested by police officers.

The cops told Larry that he’d broken a Georgia state law and Larry responded in typical exasperated-Larry fashion. But was he actually breaking a law?

Can you be arrested for giving a granola bar or a bottle of Poland Spring to a friend or a stranger in a voting line? We talked to election experts and dug into state laws, and here’s what we learned about food-and-drink-related election rules.

All states have laws against ‘electioneering.’

If you’re wondering why handing out snacks or drinks in a voting line would ever be considered an issue, Caren Short, director of legal and research for the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization focused on voter registration, points to a concept known as “electioneering.”