The Draft Is Unpopular. Registration Becomes Automatic in December Anyway. |
Politics
The Draft Is Unpopular. Registration Becomes Automatic in December Anyway.
The federal government will now dig through databases to register 18-year-olds for conscription.
J.D. Tuccille | 6.3.2026 7:00 AM
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(Maurice Gaddy/ZUMA Press/Newscom)
Americans aren't interested in reinstating a military draft, but that's not stopping the government from "streamlining" Selective Service registration—for young men's own good, we're told. That's right, the government is automating draft registration, using the excuse that it's saving registrants from the legal peril inherent in choosing to not register. The real reason, of course, is that fewer men were voluntarily registering, and the government wants to gloss over that mass rejection by potential draftees.
Automated Registration for Your Own Good?
One component of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) "modernizes Selective Service through automatic registration," boasted Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D–Pa.), who helped push the change. "This update will save taxpayer dollars and reverse falling registration rates by ensuring the Selective Service automatically registers young men, so that none inadvertently face the serious penalties of failing to register."
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The Selective Service System (SSS) has now formally proposed a rule to implement automatic registration.
How many men "inadvertently" face legal peril is an open question. There may well be some young men thankful that they're being spared the........