the electorate in 1940 approved in a plebiscite amendments to the constitution that restored the bicameral congress of the philippines, including the senate. elections for the senate were held on every second monday of november of every odd-numbered year; however, the old senatorial districts were not used anymore; instead, the 24-member senate was to be elected on a nationwide at-large basis. as the first election in the new setup, the voters in the 1941 election voted for 24 senators. however, they were also given the option of writing the party's name on the ballot, wherein all of the candidates of the party would receive votes. with the 24 candidates with the most votes winning in the election, the ruling nacionalista party won all 24 seats in a landslide victory. the winners included rafael martinez, who replaced norberto romualdez, who died the day before the election; martinez won because of voters who had selected the party, rather than specifying a particular candidate.