On Tuesday, the Illinois State Board of Elections voted to keep former President Donald Trump on the state's primary ballot.

The eight-member state board, which includes four Republicans and four Democrats, made the decision in a unanimous vote. The former president’s status in the Prairie State’s primary, which is scheduled for March 19, was thrown in doubt after a group of voters sought to keep his name off the ballot, citing the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection” clause.  

Recent rulings in Maine and Colorado were in favor of keeping Trump off their respective primary ballots, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits certain officials from holding public office if, after previously taking an oath to support the Constitution, they then engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has to do with persons guilty of insurrection or rebellion and was drafted after the Civil War to forestall former Confederates from holding office. Section 3 states:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

The former President has neither been indicted for nor convicted of insurrection as defined by 18 U.S. Code § 2383 -  Rebellion or insurrection. Hopefully, a presumption of innocence and due process still apply. That section of the U.S. Code states:

Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

Due process would indicate that a conviction would be necessary to exclude a person under this law. Allowing a disqualification based on nothing more than an assertion, as these 14th Amendment claims appear to do, flies in the face of the presumption of innocence.

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There are still ongoing cases in Colorado and Maine to try to exclude Donald Trump from the state ballots. Other such attempts in Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Oregon have either failed or were not pursued.

The United States Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on the Colorado case next week.

The ongoing legal challenges do not seem to be affecting Trump's prospects, at least in the Republican nomination process. In the most recent polling, he leads the remaining serious contender Nikki Haley by a wide margin. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump edging ahead of President Biden in the general election contest and some key swing states.