Maricopa County must provide a conservative watchdog group with a list of non-citizens currently registered to vote, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

America First Legal (AFL) filed the lawsuit in August.

“Because the Court cautioned the parties before and during the hearing, the Court must determine whether the records requested by Plaintiff are required to be released pursuant to the Arizona Public Records Law,” the Supreme Court’s order states. “Despite the political undertones, this is simply a public records case.”

During an evidentiary hearing, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes testified that a system error affected about 218,000 registered voters, the court document said.

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Voters cast their ballots during Michigan’s early voting period on October 29, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan. In Michigan, a key battleground state with 14 electoral votes, early voter turnout was high. Over 250,000 early voters were cast in the first two days alone. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

The order notes that Fontes acknowledged having an incomplete list of approximately 98,000 voters who had not verified their proof of citizenship, but stated that a complete list of all 218,000 affected voters does not exist. Fontes attributed the mention of a full list in a government press release to “rushed writing” and unclear language. He also alleged that the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) did not provide him with a list of personal details for the additional voters who may not have adequate documentation.

However, the court concluded that his testimony was contradictory; Fontes initially denied having the list of 98,000 voters before changing his statement.

“His testimony indicated that he was unaware in detail of the AZSOS (Arizona Secretary of State) efforts in this matter and in relation to the 218,000 person records in AZSOS’s possession,” the court document states.

Additionally, the order reprimands the Arizona Department of State for naming Professor Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, as an expert witness.

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The court said it gave minimal weight to his testimony and report. Much of Pape’s testimony focused on nationwide trends in political violence and lacked specific analysis regarding Arizona, the court document said.

Under cross-examination, Pape admitted that he had not conducted any state-related research. His claim that releasing the requested information could lead to violence or harassment was largely speculative and based solely on national statistics, the court document said.

“The credibility of Professor Pape’s testimony and report was further diminished by the seemingly unfounded political bias in his report and testimony,” the Supreme Court concluded. “The professor’s opinions on general political violence focused almost exclusively on allegations of past and expected future violence from only one side of the political spectrum and referred only to former President Donald Trump.”

Fontes and Pape “argued that providing the list of 218,000 voters to the AFL’s client would put those individuals at risk of harassment and violence.”

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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes speaks after Tuesday’s Arizona Supreme Court ruling upholding a 160-year-old abortion ban at an event in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., April 12, 2024. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble (Reuters/Rebecca Noble)

“However, the only evidence they presented involved general threats of political violence related to elections, most of them against elected officials,” the court document said. “They did not identify any specific threats of violence or harassment.”

The decision comes after AFL filed a lawsuit in August on behalf of the nonprofit group Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen in Maricopa County.

AFL had given before Maricopa County a week to address the alleged non-citizens on its voter rolls.

The lawsuit alleges that as of April 2024, more than 35,000 registered voters in Arizona had not provided proof of citizenship, limiting them from voting in federal elections, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

This is what the lawsuit alleges Arizona’s voter registration system creates a divide between those who provide proof of citizenship (DPOC) and those who do not. Arizona law requires DPOC for state and local elections, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal voter registration form does not require this requirement. As a result, Arizona has a two-tier system in which voters who use the federal form – known as “Federal-Only Voters” – are only allowed to vote in federal elections.

Maricopa County Registrar Stephen Richer said through his attorney that he would not take any action, “citing concerns about voter safety and concerns about the accuracy of the list,” and claimed his job was already done comply with the law, the Arizona Supreme Court document says.

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On September 26, the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona was notified through the Secretary of State’s portal that its Public Records Request (PRR) had been “completed.” A note attached to the filing indicated that a response was released on September 23 that led the organization to conclude that the PRR had been rejected.

“In particular, the Court finds that the September 24, 2024 letter and NextRequest’s closure of the file on the grounds that ‘our response has been published’ constitute, collectively, a rejection of the PRR,” the Supreme Court’s decision states from Thursday.

Fontes told Fox News Digital that the office is “considering all of our legal options.”