Dallas County Republicans will appeal a ruling that blocked efforts to remove scores of Democrats from the November election ballot.

A formal intent to appeal was filed Monday on behalf of Missy Shorey, the chairwoman of the Dallas County Republican Party, with the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.

Shorey argues that Dallas County Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Donovan did not properly certify candidate petitions and forward them to the Texas Secretary of State's office. The lawsuit, originally filed in January, showed that Donovan did not sign 127 candidate petitions.

"The case was inappropriately dismissed," local GOP lawyer Elizabeth Alvarez Bingham said in an email Tuesday night.

But Donovan said nothing had changed with the Dallas County Republican Party's lawsuit.

"The trial court found the Republican Party's lawsuit to be frivolous, and their appeal is frivolous as well," Donovan said in a text message.

In April, state District Judge Eric Moyé dismissed the case. Lawyers for the Dallas County Democratic Party 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 under way. In his order, Moyé didn't elaborate on the reasons he dismissed the controversial lawsuit.

By the time Moyé ruled on the case, the candidates that would be affected had dropped to 82 because of the March 6 primary.

It's unclear if the appeals court, which is majority Republican, will hear the case before the November general election.

"The case never had any merit," said Buck Wood, a lawyer for about a dozen Democratic candidates that would be affected if the suit is successful. "It's way too late to be doing anything. I don't know why they filed an appeal."

After Moyé's ruing, Bingham said the party would review its options, maintaining that the lower court had not been fair.

"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 at the time. "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?"

The lawsuit threatened some of the biggest names in local politics, including state Sen. Royce West and state Rep. Eric Johnson, both of Dallas. Numerous judges were also put at risk.

Democrats contended that Republicans were bringing the lawsuit to infringe on the voting rights of minorities, since most of the candidates that would be impacted are black.

By portraying Donovan as a leader who didn't carry out her duties, the lawsuit could have led to her ouster as party chairwoman. But in March Democrats overwhelmingly re-elected her. Since then the party has held several unity rallies.