One comes from Hong Kong, the other from the ACI. They reached common ground in the voting booth.

One had to become a citizen. One had to rely on a constitutional amendment to clear the way. But Victor Vazquez and Scott Mirani are voters today, and neither takes the obligation lightly.

“A year ago, I couldn’t vote,” says Vazquez. “But this means I have a say now. And here I am today, doing my work.”

“I just wanted to have some kind of voice,” says Mirani.

Vazquez, a 32-year-old shipfitter, was in Burnside Park in downtown Providence Monday afternoon, celebrating new possibilities. He asked two men if they were registered to vote. One said no because he’s on parole. One said no because he’s on probation. Vazquez said it’s not like that anymore.

“I said, ‘We can vote.’ Many people don’t know.”

One of the reasons for the rally in the park, held by the Rhode Island Family Life Center and its Right to Vote Campaign, was to get out the word that probationers and parolees can now vote because of a referendum that amended the state Constitution.

In a state that has long tried to freeze ex-offenders out of as much normal life as possible, the extension of voting rights to those on probation and parole is a refreshing breakthrough. It is a small improvement in a very hard transition. Maybe Rhode Island can now join Maine and Vermont in the very small circle of enlightened states that allow inmates to vote while in prison.

For Vazquez, the change in the Constitution means his criminal past will cast a less forbidding shadow over the rest of his life. He was released last year after serving 10 months at the Adult Correctional Institutions on a marijuana charge. Voting was not a priority because it was not a possibility. Now, he performs the community service that is a condition of his probation with a clipboard in hand and information about the renewed voting rights and the provision for Election Day registration.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The lines were long at voting places. A woman and her two small children came to the door of The Journal, looking for the Dunkin’ Donuts Center where she was told she could register to vote and vote for the first time in her life.

The Dunkin’ Donuts Center was a workshop in democracy. People could indeed register to vote there, then vote for president. There were young, first time voters. There were new citizens and families. There were patient people answering a lot of questions. And there were a bunch of kids seeing a process that they might want to be part of someday.

For Scott Mirani, a doctor who lives in Providence and practices in Southeastern Massachusetts, yesterday was a day to start giving back. He had already voted a few days ago — for the first time as a U.S. citizen — because he was working Election Day at a polling place in Warwick.

“What better way to commemorate the vote than to be a poll worker,” he said.

He is looking for a charity to give his poll worker wages to.

Mirani was born in Hong Kong, grew up in the Philippines where he went to medical school, and came to the United States for his residency. He began the process to become a U.S. citizen three years ago.

“It was a long process. I was diligent. Taking the oath was very special to me.”

He cast his early vote at Providence City Hall, just a few blocks from where Vazquez planned to vote at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The two men from very different backgrounds found a closer connection to the place they’re in through the ballot.

“It’s a tragedy that so many Americans take this for granted,” said Mirani.

bkerr@projo.com