Black and white voters are likely to be evenly represented in upcoming elections in Orleans Parish according to research that shows a large shift in the active voting population post-Katrina.

Research done by Greg Rigamer and Associates shows the number of voters who are registered and who actively participate in elections is now nearly even while before Katrina African-Americans held almost a 2-1 advantage in that area.

Rigamer’s research showed that among people likely to vote before Katrina, 63 percent were black and only 30 percent were white. Research since the storm shows that whites had a slight edge among likely voters at 48 percent to 47 percent. The percentage of all registered voters still favors black voters.

“It’s still a black majority,” said Dillard Political Analyst Gary Clark. “But, it’s a narrow majority. It depends what that narrow majority wants to do with what they have.”

Analysts said the new demographics mean that politicians will likely have to appeal to a broad base of voters, instead of concentrating on a single group.

While Rigamer believes that future parish and statewide elections will likely have a more even balance between black and white, he said that likely won’t be the case for the presidential race in November.

He said that more ‘non-active’ people vote during a presidential race and that with the likely scenario that Barack Obama will be the Democrat nominee, he expects black voters to outnumber white voters by a good margin that day.