'Fought as hard as I could': AZ elections head surrenders voter names to right-wing group

The secretary of state of a battleground state said Monday he reluctantly handed over the names of about 218,000 voters to the lawyers of right-wing activists following a court order, according to a report.

Adrian Fontes (D-AZ) faced a massive legal setback in a case involving the release of voter information. A state appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling forcing the secretary of state’s office to release a list of voters incorrectly classified as having access to the state's full ballot due to a coding glitch.

Fontes unsuccessfully tried to have the appeals court reject or pause the effort by the right-wing group Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, represented by America First Legal, which is run by former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

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“I tried to stop this,” Fontes told reporters in a news conference in Phoenix, according to The New York Times. “I have fought as hard as I could to keep your names and your personal identifying information away from the folks who I don’t trust — and I have good reason not to trust them with that specific information.”

Fontes told the court last month he feared MAGA allies could harass or target with violence the names of such voters.

“I don’t want blood on my hands,” Fontes said in court last month, according to The Times.

The court found Monday that he hadn't proven the release of the list endangered the voters on the list.