Cite as: 538 U. S. 254 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
a constitutional redistricting plan that was precleared. 189 F. Supp. 2d 548, 559. The court said that the basis for its injunction and order was "reflected in our opinion of February 19, that is, the failure of the timely preclearance under § 5 of the Voting Rights Act of the Hinds County Chancery Court's plan." Id., at 549. However, "in the event that on appeal it is determined that we erred in our February 19 ruling," the court put forth as its "alternative holding" that Article I, § 4, of the United States Constitution prohibited the State Chancery Court from issuing a redistricting plan without express authorization from the state legislature. Ibid.
The State did not file a notice of appeal. On April 1, 2002, DOJ informed the State in a letter that "it would be inappropriate for the Attorney General to make a determination concerning [the State's preclearance] submission now" because the District Court's injunction rendered the state-court plan incapable of administration. App. 29.
The state plaintiffs—intervenors in the District Court— filed a timely notice of appeal from the District Court and a jurisdictional statement. The federal plaintiffs filed a jurisdictional statement on conditional cross-appeal. We noted probable jurisdiction in both appeals and consolidated them. 536 U. S. 903 (2002).
II
At the outset we should observe two critical distinctions between these cases and the one that was before us in Growe v. Emison, 507 U. S. 25 (1993). In Growe, the Federal District Court had refused to abstain or defer to state-court redistricting proceedings. Id., at 30-31. In reversing, we reminded the federal courts of " 'what has been said on many occasions: reapportionment is primarily the duty and responsibility of the State through its legislature or other body, rather than of a federal court.' " Id., at 34 (quoting Chapman v. Meier, 420 U. S. 1, 27 (1975)). We held that "[a]bsent evidence that these state branches will fail timely to perform
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