The state Supreme Court’s decision Friday upholding the initiative that put 12-year term limits on state and local elected offices will have wide-ranging effects on Nevada for years to come.

In the immediate future, the court’s decision means 20 long-serving elected officials will be forced into retirement. Bruce Woodbury, the stalwart Clark County commissioner who has been a driving force behind improving the Las Vegas Valley’s transportation system for decades, and respected university system Regent Thalia Dondero, a former county commissioner, are among those the court barred from this year’s ballot.

Removing such institutional knowledge and stability from local government will take a toll, and it will shift the power in government to unelected bureaucrats. That may be more than a little ironic to the staunchest proponents of term limits, who also are among the biggest critics of government bureaucracies.

Aside from shortening political careers, the court’s decision will erode voters’ rights. By affirming term limits, the court took away the citizens’ right to elect someone who would otherwise be eligible to hold office.

As well, the court undermined the initiative process by brushing aside the constitutional requirement that says the same initiative must win the majority of votes in two consecutive elections. The original initiative, which covered all elected offices in the state, including judges, was passed in 1994. But before the 1996 election, the state Supreme Court changed the initiative.

The court created two initiatives, one for judges and one for all other offices. In 1996, the voters split, defeating term limits for judges but passing term limits for all other offices. In its ruling this week, the court rebuffed arguments about the legality of the two votes, saying they were essentially the same. That is laughable.

Term limits never made much sense to us. It is a condescending measure that sends a clear message to future voters: You’re not smart enough to select the right man or woman for the job.