Activists Mobilize Against ‘Automatic’ Registration Of Potential Draftees
This year the U.S. government is preparing for the largest change in its system of military conscription since 1980. Instead of requiring young men to put their names and addresses on a list to be used in the event of a draft, the government plans to try to register potential draftees “automatically” by using data from other Federal agencies, starting in December 2026.
Trying to register young men “automatically” won’t produce a list that can reliably and provably deliver induction orders. But it will produce a database that’s vulnerable to misuse for unrelated purposes.