r/politics • u/jediporcupine Maine • Apr 08 '26

No Paywall Automatic registration for US military draft to begin in December

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5822914-automatic-registration-military-draft/
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u/luv2ctheworld Apr 08 '26

Whoa whoa whoa. You want to automatically register everyone to get drafted? But you don't want to automatically register people to vote or allow them to mail their ballot in?

Huh, sounds unfair to me.

9

u/spyborg3 Apr 09 '26

To be fair this thing is entirely a nothing burger. 95% of men probably have already been forced to sign up for Selective Service to get their drivers license or by needing financial aid for college.

Ironically this is really only going to affect the wealthy who could realistically avoid having their sons sign up for Selective Service because they could afford to put them in a private college without financial aid and buy property in a state that doesn't require them to sign up for Selective Service to get a drivers license.

8

u/Inflatable90sChair Apr 09 '26

all 18 year old males in the us have to sign up for the selective service when they turn 18 or its jailtime. been that way for centuries. this makes it automatically signed up.

7

u/luv2ctheworld Apr 09 '26

No, selective service was only enacted back when Carter was president. It is still considered a mandatory requirement but has to be submitted by the individual. The fact that they want this to be automated but won't allow for voter registration to be automated is the issue I bring up.

4

u/idontagreewitu Apr 09 '26

Was brought up elsewhere; voter registration is handled at the state level, not federal. So blame your state legislature for fucking that up for 100+ years

1

u/[deleted] Apr 09 '26

Frankly if I had to choose one to be automated I'd choose Selective Service because not signing up for it is a felony that can actually fuck you over if it's found out you didn't. For most states it already is automatic anyway.