Detroit bankruptcy ballots counted in California in unfamiliar election

When thousands of Detroit workers and retirees make the crucial decision in the coming weeks whether to accept the city’s plan to cut retirement benefits, they must mail their ballots to a company in California hired to count their votes. Using a “balloting agent” to count votes is not unusual in bankruptcy cases. But some city workers and retirees — accustomed to political and union elections — have questioned why their votes are being tabulated in California by a company called Kurtzman Carson Consultants (KCC) and why emergency manager Kevyn Orr seems to have access to the results as the company receives ballots. Orr spokesman Bill Nowling said that any of the city’s creditors who are...