Dallas’ 5th Court of Appeals shut the door today on a Democratic effort to remove State Sen. Brian Birdwell from the general election ballot.

A three-judge panel on the court denied the request from Democratic nominee John Cullar, D-Waco, and the Texas Democratic Party to have Birdwell declared ineligible.

After Friday state law says Birdwell’s name will remain on the ballot, regardless of whether the Supreme Court declares him ineligible at a later date.

The Democrats through their lawyer had argued Birdwell did not meet a five-year state residency requirement for senators, citing as their main evidence Birdwell’s voter registration form and voting history in Virginia from 2004 to 2006.

The justice’s order does not weigh in on whether Birdwell is eligible. Instead, the justices argue Democrats skipped a key step by not directly presenting their evidence to the Republican responsible for putting Birdwell on the ballot.

The court also questioned the format in which the Democrats presented the voting records and Virginia fishing licenses Birdwell got, in their suit. The order notes the Democrats' documents were photocopied and “not properly sworn or certified.”

The Democratic Party released a statement calling the order “an overtly political decision using technicalities and loopholes to avoid ruling that a Republican officeholder is ineligible.”

Cullar said he was disappointed the Court of Appeals refused to answer the question of whether Birdwell is eligible to serve, before adding that "at this point I remain the only candidate in this race whose eligibility is not in question."

Though the order does not speak to the eligibility question, Republican Party of Texas chairman Steve Munisteri interpreted the court's decision as a validation of Birdwell's assertion that he's a lifelong Texan.

"The Republican Party was always confident that Sen. Birdwell is and has been a resident of Senatorial District 22 for the requisite period of time," Munisteri said.

"The Democratic Party, as is its custom, has wasted taxpayer dollars by filing a frivolous lawsuit."