COLUMBUS, Ohio — Voters this fall will decide whether the state should stop changing its clocks twice a year, a question that has drawn an unusual coalition of sleep researchers, farmers, parents and small-business owners into a debate that cuts across the usual political lines.
The ballot measure, known as Issue 4, would keep the state on standard time all year starting next fall. Under federal law, states may opt out of daylight saving time and stay on standard time permanently, but they cannot adopt permanent daylight saving time without congressional approval. That distinction has become central to the campaign.
Supporters cite sleep and safety
The Yes on 4 campaign, led by a group called One Clock Ohio, argues that the spring change in particular disrupts sleep and has been linked in studies to a short-term rise in workplace injuries and traffic crashes. Organizers collected more than 480,000 signatures to place the question on the ballot.
We are not asking people to love dark evenings. We are asking them to stop the twice-a-year jolt that leaves everybody groggy for a week.
Theresa Kaminski, chair, One Clock Ohio
Supporters also note that standard time keeps mornings brighter in winter, which they say helps children waiting for school buses. Several pediatric groups in the state have endorsed the measure.
Opponents worry about evenings and neighbors
A competing campaign, Keep Our Evenings, says many residents prefer the long summer evenings that daylight saving time provides and that sunsets as early as 8 p.m. in late June would hurt outdoor recreation, restaurants and youth sports leagues. The group also warns that the state could end up an hour off from neighboring states for much of the year.
“Imagine running a trucking company, or a hospital system, or a TV station that spans two states, and half the year your clocks don’t match,” said Glenn Hartley, a spokesman for Keep Our Evenings. “That is real confusion with real costs.”
Some opponents say they would support ending clock changes if the state could stay on daylight saving time instead, and they have urged lawmakers to keep pressing Congress for that option. Bills to allow permanent daylight saving time have been introduced in Congress several times but have not become law.
- What a yes vote does: keeps the state on standard time year-round starting next fall
- What a no vote does: keeps the current spring and fall clock changes
- Summer impact: sunsets about one hour earlier than today
- Winter impact: no change from the current schedule
Early polling suggests broad dislike of changing the clocks but an even split on the solution. A survey released last week by Buckeye Valley College found that 71 percent of respondents would prefer to stop switching, yet only 46 percent said they supported Issue 4 as written, with 38 percent opposed and the rest unsure.
The state’s business groups have not taken a formal position. A spokeswoman for a statewide restaurant association said members were divided, with breakfast-focused diners leaning toward yes and patio-heavy dinner spots leaning toward no.
Election officials said the measure would take effect the first Sunday of November next year if it passes, giving airlines, schools and software vendors roughly a year to adjust schedules and systems. Both campaigns plan to spend the final weeks on social media and town hall events. “Everyone has an opinion about this,” Kaminski said. “For once, they get to vote on it.”
