Every four years, when Virginia’s gubernatorial election season gets underway, residents of the commonwealth are reminded that their governors are the only ones in the nation not allowed to serve consecutive terms. They can serve more than one nonconsecutive term, but this hasn’t happened since Mills Godwin was re-elected in 1974, after serving as governor from 1966 to 1970.

The prohibition on back-to-back terms is a relic of Reconstruction, intended to prevent Southern governors from amassing too much power. That doesn’t mean it isn’t working well in this day and age. All the other Southern states gradually allowed their incumbent governors to seek re-election, but Virginia’s chief executive is already one of the most powerful in the nation. He has the power to appoint the secretary of the commonwealth — an elected office in most states — and almost all the members of many state boards and commissions, including independent entities like the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. A governor who begins as a lame duck cannot parlay these appointments to electoral advantage, making it more likely that candidates are selected based on their expertise rather than their political usefulness.