electoral reform enacted in 1951 eliminated block voting, which had given voters the option of writing the party's name on the ballot. in the 1951 election, voters voted for eight senators for the first time and each voter had to write at most eight names for senator (writing the party's name would result in a spoiled vote). noting that after the elimination of block voting, many people voted for a split ticket, political scientist david wurfel has remarked that "the electoral reform of 1951 was thus one of the most important institutional changes in the postwar philippines, making the life of the opposition easier."