Updated at 2:45 p.m. to include additional reaction.

A judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit that would have removed more than 80 Democrats from the November general election ballot, putting to rest a controversy that threatened to toss Dallas County elections into chaos.

State District Judge Eric Moyé issued an order tossing out Dallas County Republican Party Chairwoman Missy Shorey's lawsuit against Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Donovan and 127 Democrats originally listed on the March 6 primary election ballot. After the primary, the names of the candidates that were in jeopardy dwindled to 82.

The lawsuit contended that Donovan did not sign the candidate applications of 127 Democrats before they were forwarded to the Texas secretary of state's office. That signature, according the lawsuit, was needed in order to certify the candidates for the election.

But Moyé on Monday sided with the defense and dismissed the claims. In a hearing Friday a team of lawyers, led by Randy Johnston, argued that Shorey did not have standing to bring the suit. They also said Donovan isn't required by law to sign candidate petitions and that the matter is moot because the election is already underway. In his order, Moyé didn't elaborate on the reasons he dismissed the controversial lawsuit.

"We are delighted to have this matter behind us. This decision ensures that democracy has been protected," Donovan said Monday. "Democrats will not be divided or distracted. We will continue to defend the rights of voters to choose their elected officials at the ballot box."

Elizabeth Alvarez Bingham, the lawyer for the Dallas County Republican Party, had said Friday she was not expecting a favorable ruling. Last month she was unsuccessful in having Moyé, a Democrat, removed from the case, arguing that he had recused himself on another election ballot case.

On Monday, she said, "We will review the decision and decide on our next step."

"The nature of Friday's hearing and the underlying tone of the decision continue to emphasize my client's point that some people do not feel the election code applies to them," Bingham said. "Here in Dallas, for at least a decade there has been a double standard between the parties. Why have an election code when it can just be bent to the will of an activist judiciary that is clearly not objective?"

Carol Donovan, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party, (far left), and Sarah Duncan, the Democratic Party lawyer, answers questions from concerned officials and candidates about a lawsuit filed by the Dallas Republican Party, during the Dallas County Democratic Party Executive Committee Meeting at the Communications Workers of America Union Hall in Dallas, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. Secretary Gary Garcia of the Dallas County Democratic Party sits at right. Ben Torres/Special Contributor (Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

The February lawsuit involved some of the county's top Democrats, including state Sen. Royce West, state Rep. Eric Johnson and numerous judicial candidates.

"This frivolous lawsuit was a thinly veiled attempt by the Dallas County Republican Party to

take away the ability of minority voters in Dallas County to elect the candidates of their

choice," Johnson said Monday in a written statement. "The Republican Party seems to be doing everything in its power to show minority voters that it has little regard for them at the national, state, and now local level. I think the 2018 midterm elections will be a wake-up call for Republicans."

Johnson, one of the candidates to intervene in the case, argued that the GOP lawsuit would have violated his right to free speech under the Texas Citizens Participation Act.

Along with forcing candidates to defend what was described as a frivolous case, the lawsuit nagged at a local Democratic Party already under stress from numerous contentious primary contests. While blasting Republicans for election-year tricks that threatened to disenfranchise voters, some Democrats blamed Donovan for not properly doing her job.

But most Democrats stood by their leader, accepting her point that criticizing her for not signing the petitions, which lawyers for Democrats said she didn't have to do, would add fuel to the "Republican scheme."

Missy Shorey (Facebook)

Perhaps primary voters agreed. On March 6 Donovan easily beat Dallas lawyer Chris Hamilton to win re-election as Dallas County Democratic Party chairwoman.

Donovan and others have called for a unified party in advance of November's critical elections.

Democrats took the lawsuit seriously. Six lawyers argued for dismissal during a hearing Friday. Bingham stood alone.

Now Moyé will determine if the GOP will be on the hook for legal fees. About 16 Democrats plus the local party retained lawyers.

"The Republican Party must now pay the attorney's fees incurred by the Dallas County Democratic Party for having to defend a lawsuit that has no basis in law or fact," according to a news release from Dallas County Democrats.