Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, attended a fundraiser at the Medici Museum of Art on Monday for Nick Santucci, of Howland, a Republican state House candidate. Cupp also is the co-chairman of the Ohio Redistricting Commission.

HOWLAND — With less than a month to come up with a fifth set of legislative district maps, House Speaker and Ohio Redistricting Commission co-chair Bob Cupp has given up on speculating whether an agreement will be reached.

But he assures voters that the commission is doing its best with the hand it has been dealt.

A three-member federal judicial panel in the Southern District of Ohio ruled last week that if the Ohio Redistricting Commission couldn’t get maps approved by the state Supreme Court by May 28, it would impose the third set of maps from Feb. 24 that were deemed unconstitutional by the court.

The hope is to have an agreed-upon set of maps before a second primary election, tentatively slated for Aug. 2. Cupp said the federal court has weighed in and ensured a second primary election to include the state general assembly. He added that the statewide officeholders, candidates for Congress and all the local candidates and issues will be on the May 3 ballot.

Cupp said the commission is working hard to create a fifth map that is agreeable to both sides of the aisle. While the new maps, or previous maps if new ones are not agreed upon in time, will not apply to the May 3 primary, it will significantly affect the second primary.

“We’re working on it. This will be the fifth map that we’ve tried to do, and we’ve looked at it at all different angles,” Cupp said. “There is quite a disagreement on the Supreme Court itself because their decisions have been 4-3, and so it’s not surprising that there are differences of opinion on the commission.”

Cupp said that while the deadline is tight, it’s better than the previous, tighter deadlines that he said were not reasonable.

The court has rejected four sets of maps due to what Cupp called a “difference of opinion as to what the constitution requires.” Cupp said the court has no constitutional authority to tell the commission when a new map is due back, but it is trying to comply with the orders as best as it can. He said this is the first time Ohio has gone through this process and it has been “more complicated and taken longer than anyone expected.”

Cupp, a former Ohio Supreme Court justice, did not comment on whether he believes the court has overstepped its authority by rejecting four sets of maps. He said the situation is in litigation so he could not comment, but he added that division among the court is the source of the issue.

“This is a sharply divided court with 4-3 decisions. One vote separates those who think the maps have met the constitution’s requirement and those who think it has not,” Cupp said. “This is not a clear-cut situation.”

Varying deadlines and a second primary that is not yet confirmed has some concerned that voter turnout will be impacted by the confusion. Cupp said he is hopeful and optimistic that there will still be a good voter turnout based on the candidates’ resourcefulness in generating voter interest.