Court ruling on term limits tosses 21 off ballot; 13 OK'd to run again

In a sweeping ruling handed down Friday by the Nevada Supreme Court, 21 elected officials in the state have been ruled ineligible to run for re-election because of term limits. Thirteen others, meanwhile, have been ruled eligible to run for re-election.

As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports:

In a unanimous decision, the Nevada Supreme Court said the clock for term limits started ticking in 1996 for local officials, making those with 12 years of service or more ineligible to run for another term this year.

Among those tossed off the ballot include Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury who has been serving for 27 years. As the Associated Press reports, others affected by the ruling include two state university system regents and several school and town board members from around the state.

In a separate unanimous ruling handed down Friday, 13 other lawmakers have been OK'd to run again including state Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Las Vegas) and state Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Reno). The court ruled that "their term limits clock started running at a later time," the Review-Journal wrote Saturday.

Nevada voters approved term limits in 1996. Friday's ruling examined when they kicked in for local officials and state lawmakers.