How did the draft lottery affect deferments and who became eligible after it?
Executive summary
The draft lottery changes who is called first by assigning sequence numbers to birth dates and concentrating immediate liability on one cohort — those turning 20 in the calendar year of the lottery — with additional age groups called in order (21, 22, etc.) up to age 25; a registrant is generally over draft liability at 26 [1]. Those whose lottery numbers are called still can seek postponements, deferments or exemptions (e.g., student, married, dependency, conscientious objector) during classification and appeals processed by local boards [2] [3].
1. How the lottery shifted the target: one year — not seven
Before the lottery system, vulnerability to call persisted across multiple ages; the modern lottery concentrated primary exposure into the single calendar year a man turned 20 by making that cohort the first priority. If more inductees were needed, subsequent lotteries or calls would extend to those turning 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25; once a man reaches his 26th birthday he is generally beyond liability [1] [4].
2. Practical effects on deferments and uncertainty
The lottery shortened the most acute period of uncertainty from years to one year: student and other deferments continued to exist but often functioned as temporary postponements rather than permanent protections. Student deferments “remained in place” historically but only delayed eligibility — often up to a limited number of years — so college students still worried about draft status across and after their studies [5].
3. Who could still avoid induction after being called
Being drawn in the lottery did not automatically mean induction. Registrants called for processing could claim classifications, seek postponements or apply for deferments and exemptions: married persons, students, dependents, those with medical disqualifications, and conscientious objectors are among categories discussed in official and explanatory guidance [3] [2]. Local and appeal boards would process claims and hearings before any induction notices became final [2].
4. Sequence of call: birthdate to sequence number to age cohorts
The lottery assigns sequence numbers to birthdates by randomly pairing date‑balls with order numbers in a public draw; those numbers establish priority of call. The Selective Service would first call men who turn 20 in the lottery year, then 21, then 22, and so on until reaching age 26 where liability ends [1] [4].
5. Historical nuance: student deferments were limited, not erased
Sources note that the 1969–1971 era retained student deferments but curtailed how long they protected registrants; student status delayed eligibility but did not permanently exempt the holder, and many observed that the lottery reduced the stretch of multi‑year uncertainty though students still faced risk through graduation and the following year [5].
6. Administrative timeline and appeals after a lottery
If a national emergency triggered a draft, Selective Service must process claims quickly: induction notices are sent and registrants can make claims for postponement, deferment or exemption; local and appeal boards begin classification processing, and the law has required delivery of first inductees within statutory timelines after authorization [2].
7. Two competing framings in modern explanations
Contemporary explainer pieces frame the lottery as both a fairness reform and a limiter of prolonged exposure: proponents highlight random selection and focus on a single age year to reduce seven‑year anxiety, while critics point out that deferments and postponements still leave students and other groups in an uncertain position because they only delay — not always eliminate — liability [4] [5] [6].
8. What the available sources do not say
Available sources do not mention any recent statutory changes beyond the described lottery mechanics and historic practice; they do not provide new legislation altering deferment categories, nor do they describe specific modern thresholds for each deferment type beyond the general categories cited (not found in current reporting).
Limitations and sourcing note: This summary synthesizes Selective Service descriptions and contemporary explainer articles about how a national draft lottery would operate and how deferments/postponements historically functioned; all factual assertions cite official Selective Service pages and secondary explainers as indicated [1] [2] [4] [3] [5] [6].