Uof N.O. study: Katrina 'greatly affected' political landscape

Hurricane Katrina changed voter demographics in a way that "greatly affected the political landscape of both the metropolitan New Orleans area and the state," the University of New Orleans said today in releasing the results of a study by UNO political scientist Edward Chervenak.

Chervenak studied data from Louisiana's gubernatorial elections in 2003 and 2007.

The decrease in the number of voters from 2003 to 2007 in the eight-parish New Orleans area was more than 100,000, a 23 percent decline, Chervenak said. The number of black voters dropped disproportionately, falling 41 percent compared with a 15 percent decrease among white voters, he said.

The population shifts have accelerated the growth of the Republican Party statewide, he said. In 2007, 125,000 fewer Democrats cast votes in the gubernatorial election statewide, a 14 percent drop, Chervenak said. Meanwhile, the number of Republican voters statewide increased by 3.5 percent, and third-party/ independent voters increased by 8 percent, he said.

In the eight-parish New Orleans area, those numbers are even more exaggerated, with nearly 85,000, or 32 percent, fewer Democrats voting in 2007, Chervenak said. The numbers of Republican and third- party/independent voters also decreased in the region, but just by 10 percent, he said.

Chervenak conducted the study using post-election data from the Louisiana Secretary of State's Division of Elections from the two statewide races. He further analyzed the data by parish in the New Orleans region and by council district in Orleans Parish.

To see the full study, go to http://poli.uno.edu/Faculty/ facultywebpages/Chervenak/votepopulation.pdf.

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