The State Board of Elections unanimously voted today to reject a bid to block former Republican President Donald Trump from Illinois’ March 19 primary ballot, setting into motion a likely battle in state court over his eligibility.

A group of voters and a national voting-rights group objected to Trump’s nominating petitions in Illinois and asked the state election board to block his candidacy. They alleged Trump is constitutionally barred from running for office because of his conduct during the fatal Jan. 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

The 14th Amendment prohibits insurrectionists from seeking public office.

But the eight-member state election board rejected that argument on grounds that the panel lacked statutory authority to determine whether Trump, in fact, violated that provision of the U.S. Constitution.

That’s even though at least some of the board’s members believed Trump fueled the insurrection.

“There’s no doubt in my mind he manipulated, instigated, aided and abetted an insurrection on January 6th,” said board member Catherine S. McCrory, an appointee of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. “However, having said that, it’s not my place to rule on that today.”

The group that objected to Trump’s candidacy in Illinois has vowed to appeal an adverse ruling from the Board of Elections, launching a legal battle that could well end up in the lap of the Democratically-controlled state Supreme Court in the coming weeks.

Dave McKinney covers Illinois politics and government for WBEZ and is the former long-time Springfield bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.