Asian Journal, News Report, Posted: Dec 12, 2011

LAS VEGAS--Filipino-Americans here will find it easier to vote in the 2012 presidential elections. Urging Filipinos to vote in the coming elections, the Clark County Election Department will include a Tagalog option in the ballots.

“The Filipino community is certainly large enough to significantly impact the outcome of future Clark County elections,” said Harvard Lomax, Clark County Election Department registrar of voters. “The fact that the federal government now requires us to add the (Filipino) language means a large number of Filipino residents live in Clark County and constitute a significant voting block.”

Lomax's office will hire people who speak and read Tagalog to provide assistance to Filipino voters and staff polling sites during early voting and on Election Day.

The new directive to include a Tagalog option on election ballots was given to the Clark County Election Department by the US Census Bureau after the 2010 Census results showed that the Filipino population in Nevada grew a hefty 142 percent from 2000-2010.

Filipinos in Nevada, a majority of whom live in Clark County, are the fastest growing population in the nation.

Clark County joins the short list of counties in the United States where Tagalog is used in election ballots. Two counties in Hawaii, two in Alaska and four in California also include this language option. Tagalog will be the third language used in Clark County ballots, after English and Spanish.