The Consul wrote:How many votes could Jones deliver? How did he go about it? Were they enough to matter? What was the political force at work in The Temple? Perhaps Talbot has scratched and dug a bit more at this, because the story would deepen there.
Around 5000 to 8000 votes in those days apparently, which no politician would willingly turn away, and he could supply a considerable number of bodies for campaigning/leafleting too. He could also move his people around and register large parts of his voting bloc in key areas, or even have them registered illegally in multiple areas, by getting them into Housing Association accomodation through his city contacts, or at least having them appear to be living there. More details on his political manouverings here. First link has pics of Jim Jones hanging out with Jerry Brown, Moscone, going to meet Walter Mondale, laughing it up with the SF Police Chief and the head of the Bar Association(!). He was not a small player:
http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/pics.html#tophttp://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/electionfraud.htmlhttp://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/jbrown.htmlDecember 17, 1978
New York Times - John M. Crewdson
San Francisco, Dec. 16--Determined to help elect politicians friendly toward his People's Temple, the Rev. Jim Jones ordered what former temple members say was an organized campaign of fraudulent voting practices that included importing busloads of illegal voters to cast their ballots in this city's 1975 municipal elections.
Among those named by some of Mr. Jones's former followers as recipients of his political support were Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, both of whom were shot and killed in their City Hall offices, three weeks ago, allegedly by an enraged former city official. The police have said that the shooting was unrelated to the People's Temple.
In the runoff election for the Mayor's office in 1975, for example, Mr. Moscone was elected by just 4,000 votes, and Mr. Freitas won by fewer than 10,000.
"Jones swayed elections," said Jeannie Mills, who with her husband, Al, defected from the temple in the fall of 1975. "He told us how to vote."
Shortly before an election, Mrs. Mills said, temple members were given sample ballots marked with Mr. Jones's choices to take with them to the polls.
Following an election, Mrs. Johnson added, members were required to produce ballot stubs showing that they had indeed voted. Nonvoters, she said, were "pushed around, roughed up, physically abused."
Asked how Mr. Jones could insure that members actually voted for his chosen candidates, Mrs. Mills gave a little laugh. "You don't understand," she said, "we wanted to do what he told us to."
Judging from various estimates, Mr. Jones's adherents probably numbered about 5,000--a sizable bloc in a city where the average voter turnout runs close to 200,000.
In the months that followed the 1975 election, Mr. Freitas, the new District Attorney, began an inquiry into reports that large numbers of people had voted illegally in San Francisco while residing in neighboring cities.
When reports first became public that Mr. Freitas was pursuing such an investigation, Mrs. Johnson said, Mr. Jones grew concerned, and, on one occasion, said as much before a meeting of the temple's governing body, known as the Planning Commission.
In charge of the vote fraud investigation, Mr. Freitas placed Timothy O. Stoen, a newly hired deputy district attorney who was also a longtime member of the temple and chief legal adviser to Mr. Jones.
Although about 50 people were subsequently indicted, most of them for having voted in San Francisco while living outside the city, none were members of the People's Temple...
I think due to the charitable and community work the Temple did for the poor at that time they could've easily "bought" votes among people who weren't necessarily full Temple members as well. If one of those crazy but helpful Temple people manages to get you accomodation or work when you're at your lowest point, you might be tempted to follow their voting recommendations too. "We could do so much more for people if only Moscone were mayor!..." etc.
EDIT: Thanks for going the extra mile with those emails bks!
"The universe is 40 billion light years across and every inch of it would kill you if you went there. That is the position of the universe with regard to human life."
