Democracy is not a spectator sport.

You have to get in it to get the most out of it. For most of us, that means voting.

Voter turnout is an important gauge of how many people feel engaged in their government. That's why it is one of 16 metrics in the Studer Community Institute's Pensacola Metro Dashboard. Created in consultation with the University of West Florida’s Office of Economic Development and Engagement, the dashboard is an at-a-glance look at the social, economic and educational well-being of our community.

In the 2014 election, 49.3 percent of Escambia's registered voters cast ballots; 43.3 percent of Santa Rosa's registered voters did so. The state figure was 50 percent.

In the last presidential election cycle — when turnout is typically higher — 75.5 percent of Escambia registered voters voted; in Santa Rosa it was 66.2 percent, according to the Florida Division of Elections.

While election day 2016 is more than a full calendar year away, the media's election cycle news coverage is in full swing. Amid the breakdowns of the crowded field of candidates for the presidential nominations, you may have missed this little nugget from Vox.com, which looked at how voting patterns by income level impact the kind of policies Congress and other elected leaders then pursue.

Here's a bit of Sean McElwee's story, headlined: "One big reason Congress ignore the poor: they don't vote":

At the national level, this chart from a July publication by the U.S. Census Bureau compares voters by income level.

Escambia Supervisor of Elections David Stafford says his office doesn't keep turnout record broken down by income. They do track who voted in age, race and gender. For the 2012 election — the last presidential election cycle — there were 198,275 registered voters in Escambia County.

—76 percent of white and black registered voters voted.

— 77 percent of women and 73.5 percent of men voted.

— 66.7 percent of people under 45 voted; 83 percent of people 46 and older voted.

— 85 percent of voters 66 and older voted; 61 percent of voters ages 18-25 voted.

As the Vox article points note attitudes about what the government's role should differ greatly by household income. It's worth a read.

And it's worth considering that even though you may be developing fatigue for the 2016 election cycle already, the most important thing we can do on Election Day is participate.