After the user selects a country, it populates and displays a select menu with the states from the populate.php page. After the new populated select menu is displayed i want to check to make sure the user has made a selection before submitting the form. Currently i am only changing the background colour but i cant get the message to display, nor can i stop it from submitting before the information is correct. Any help would b appreciated. Thank you.

Here is my code:
Validate.php page

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<script type="text/javascript">
//function to populate menu
jQuery(document).ready(function(){
// when any option from country list is selected
jQuery("select[name='country']").change(function(){

// get the selected option value of country
var optionValue = jQuery("select[name='country']").val();
jQuery("#cityAjax")
.html(ajaxLoader)
.load('populate.php', {country: optionValue, status: 1}, function(response){
if(response) {
jQuery("#cityAjax").css('display', '');
} else {
jQuery("#cityAjax").css('display', 'none');
}
});
});
});

// Validate Select boxes
function validateSelect(x){
if(document.getElementById(x).selectedIndex !== 0){
document.getElementById(x).style.background ='#ccffcc';
document.getElementById(x + 'Error').style.display = "none";
return true;
}else{
document.getElementById(x).style.background ='#e35152';
document.getElementById(x + 'Error').style.display = "block";
return false;
}
}


function validateForm(){
// Set error catcher
var error = 0;
// Validate city dropdown box
if(!validateSelect('city')){
document.getElementById('cityError').style.display = "block";
error++;
}
// Don't submit form if there are errors
if(error > 0){
return false;
}
}
</script>

</head>
<body>
<div id="cityAjax" style="display:none">
<div class="slAdd1a">Parish:</div>
<div class="slAdd1b">
<label for="city"></label>
<select name="city" id="city" onblur="validateSelect(name)">
<option value="">--Select a State--</option>
</select>
<span class="validateError" id="animalError" style="display: none;">You must select a state</span>
</div></div>
<div class="slAdd1">
<div class="slAdd1a">Country:</div>
<div class="slAdd1b"><span id="sprycountry">
<label for="country"></label>
<select name="country" id="country">
<option value="" selected="selected">Please Select</option>
<option value="Russia">Russia</option>
<option value="England">England</option>
</select>
<span class="selectInvalidMsg">Please select a valid item.</span><span class="selectRequiredMsg">Please select an item.</span></span></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

And the second page
populate.php page

<?php
$country = $_POST['country'];

if(!$country) {
return false;
}

$cities = array(
"Russia" => array('Russian State'),
"England" => array('English State'),
);
$currentCities = $cities[$country];
?>

<div id="cityAjax">
<div class="slAdd1a">Parish:</div>
<div class="slAdd1b">
<label for="city"></label>
<select name="city" id="city" onblur="validateSelect(name)">
<option value="">--Select a State--</option>
<?php
foreach($currentCities as $city) {
?>
<option value="<?php echo $city; ?>"><?php echo $city; ?></option>
<?php
}
?>
</select>
<span class="validateError" id="cityError" style="display: none;">You must select State</span></div></div>