Just 56 percent of eligible Asian American citizens were registered to vote in 2012, according to the latest U.S. Census data available. Among African Americans, 73 percent of eligible voters were registered, while Latinos registered at a rate of 59 percent.

But once registered, Asian Americans were just as likely to cast ballots as Latinos — 47 percent and 48 percent, respectively — though considerably less than the 64 percent of whites registered to vote and 66 percent of African Americans.

By some accounts, Asian Americans are a sleeping political giant. Their numbers are growing, but the demographic has yet to learn how to flex its muscle at the ballot box.

Nevada is one of the places the demographic could have a big influence, according to Asian American groups pushing to get more AAPIs registered.

The state is expected to play a pivotal role in 2016. It controls just six of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, but Nevada is getting lots of attention from Democrats and Republicans.

Las Vegas hosted the first Democratic presidential debate of this cycle, and most of the GOP’s leading candidates have made repeated forays into the state.

To underscore the state’s importance in energizing the AAPI electorate, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, a national group that is leading the drive to get more AAPIs registered to vote before the 2016 election, is holding its national convention next year in Las Vegas.

Voter registration among Asian Americans remains a significant hurdle for political engagement, according to the organization’s executive director, Christine Chen.

“When you look at Latinos, African Americans, women’s communities — more organizations are doing the work. They have more registration drives. And they have more money,” she said.

“We haven't seen that. Only in the last few years have some resources come into our communities,” said Chen, who crisscrosses the country to help build a network of grass-roots organizations that fan out into their communities to mobilize AAPIs.

The challenge is to turn new and occasional voters into high-propensity lifetime voters, the kinds of voters whom political campaigns are more likely to target. Doing so, she said, could force politicians to include Asian Americans in discussions about issues of special concern to their communities, including access to higher education, jobs and health care.

But it all starts with persuading AAPIs to register, she said.

Genie Nguyen, a community organizer in Fairfax County, Virginia, knows how difficult the task is to engage new citizens, many of them with limited English skills who are still learning how to participate in American democracy.

Many of the Vietnamese Americans in her community have trouble reading English and need help registering to vote. Some require interpreters on Election Day to cast ballots.

“Sometimes they think it’s too much trouble,” she said.