why is "turn on the lights" good enough for early risers but not for late-to-beds or night owls?

I would suggest it's because the sun is a far better light, and most people don't have the ability to light up the entire area to make it seem like daytime.

Note: I'm a late-to-bed person myself, so I'm happy about this, but I want to be honest about the fact that my support for it over a permanent no DST is my personal preference being imposed on others. In the US south there's a saying, "don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining" and I try to honor that here.