A measure that registers people to vote when they obtain or renew their driver’s licenses is expected to be a game changer for California elections, but there’s a catch.

Although California’s Motor Voter Act becomes law in January, it may not be fully in place until the 2018 elections at the very latest, said Sam Mahood, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

That’s because the Secretary of State’s Office must first determine the exact process and set protocols to securely access information from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla said officials are just beginning to compile a statewide voter registration database, known as VoteCal, a necessary step for the act to take effect. VoteCal is on schedule to be launched statewide in June.

Counties have been responsible for keeping their own voter registration databases. Now, the Secretary of State’s Office must centralize that information into a single database.

Other parts of the process still need to be worked out, including the frequency of data sharing between the Secretary of State’s Office and the DMV.

“At this point, we don’t know if the data will be shared monthly or on a weekly basis,” Padilla said. “The more regular, the better for me.”

Meanwhile, privacy concerns have been raised.

In California, information on voters is treated differently from information on drivers. After “My Sister Sam” actress Rebecca Schaeffer was killed in 1989 by an obsessed fan who found her address using state motor vehicle records, a law was enacted to restrict public access to address information from driving records in California.

But under state law, certain voter registration information – name, date of birth, party affiliation, home address – can be shared for journalistic, political, scholarly or government purposes, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

A driver’s license number, Social Security number and any other “unique identifier” of a registered voter cannot be disclosed.

The Secretary of State’s Office said via email that the new Motor Voter program will “protect the integrity of the election process and protect the confidentiality of voter information.”

The program “will continue to protect those covered by existing confidentiality policies, such as victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.”

The Secretary of State’s Office did not disclose further details of how it would guarantee those protections.

Others claim the Motor Voter Act will lead to voter fraud.

In California, undocumented immigrants can obtain driver’s licenses through a new law known as AB60.

Linda Paine of California’s Election Integrity Project, an anti-voting-fraud group, said the Motor Voter Act also will result in those undocumented immigrants registering to vote.

But the secretary of state said the Motor Voter Act prohibits the DMV from registering AB60 driver’s license applicants.

“We’re only looking to register people eligible to vote, period,” Padilla has said.

Not everyone is interested in participating, though.

For registered voters such as Nidia Tellez, 30, of Riverside, it’s important that the program gives her the right to opt out of being registered.

Otherwise, it would take away her privilege of making the decision to register, Tellez said.

Tellez also said she’s skeptical of claims that increased voter registration through the Motor Voter Act will lead to higher voter turnout.

“I think even if they’re registered, it won’t push them to vote because they would have registered if they wanted to vote,” said Tellez on Thursday outside the Riverside DMV office.

“I’m registered to vote and I don’t always vote,” she added.

Tellez said she typically votes in presidential elections. She’s never voted in a local election, mainly because she wasn’t too aware of the city issues on hand.

About 6.6 million California citizens are eligible to vote, but not registered, Padilla said. And turnout has been low even among those who are registered.

In the 2014 general election, the registered voter turnout for California was about 42 percent – a record low for a statewide general election. Just 17.3 percent of eligible Latinos and 18.4 percent of eligible Asian Americans in California cast ballots in that election.

Mindy S. Romero, founder and director of the California Civic Engagement Project at UC Davis, said once the law does take effect, the state’s electorate will resemble the population of California.

“These new registrants are going to be from a population that is historically under-represented,” she said.

Napoleon Chavez, 45, of Moreno Valley has eight children, ages 12 to 25. He recognizes the importance of the Motor Voter Act.

“If you care about the future, you have to vote,” he said. “From there it depends where your kids are going to be.”

Although Chavez is diligent about voting, he does recognize why others don’t.

“Nowadays, we’re kind of lazy for these kind of things,” he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9462 or amolina@pe.com