“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg on Thursday said the Supreme Court’s decision striking down Louisiana’s second majority-Black congressional district was designed to suppress minority political participation.
“This is meant to discourage you from voting. This is meant to make you feel like you don’t have a voice. You do have a voice,” Ms. Goldberg said on ABC’s “The View.”
The ruling, issued Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais, was decided 6-3 along ideological lines, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the conservative majority that the Louisiana map amounted to an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented, arguing the ruling had rendered a key provision of the Voting Rights Act “all but a dead letter.”
Ms. Goldberg tied the ruling to a broader rollback of voting protections, arguing that new requirements — such as prohibiting the use of a married name or requiring a birth certificate — would affect women and other groups beyond minority voters.
“Right now, it sounds like it’s just affecting people of color. We know better,” she said.
She also invoked the history of the Voting Rights Act, arguing that the conditions it was designed to remedy have not disappeared.
“We put the Voting Rights Act together because there was an issue. They were literally shooting people. They were running them down with dogs to keep them from voting,” Ms. Goldberg said. “When they say that problem is gone, it’s not gone because you’re still doing it.”
The White House welcomed the ruling. “This is a complete and total victory for American voters,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “The color of one’s skin should not dictate which congressional district you belong in.”
The decision has already triggered redistricting activity in other states. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared an “electoral emergency” and suspended the state’s May 16 House primaries, saying it would be improper to hold elections under a map the court had voided. Early voting had been set to begin Saturday, and absentee ballots had already been mailed to some overseas voters.
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