Municipalities in Appenzell Ausserrhoden that most often vote against the Swiss result
National ranking →Urnäsch is the municipality in Appenzell Ausserrhoden that most often ends up on the opposite side of the national result: on 37% of federal ballot proposals (2015–2026) its own majority differed from Switzerland. Next are Schwellbrunn (33%) and Wolfhalden (32%). Only municipalities of at least 1,000 residents are counted. Source: FSO.
Ranking
BFS · 2015–2026| Rank | Municipality | Divergence | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urnäsch | 37% | 2'382 |
| 2 | Schwellbrunn | 33% | 1'543 |
| 3 | Wolfhalden | 32% | 1'913 |
| 4 | Walzenhausen | 28.3% | 2'111 |
| 5 | Lutzenberg | 27.3% | 1'340 |
| 6 | Bühler | 25% | 1'958 |
| 7 | Waldstatt | 24% | 1'906 |
| 8 | Stein | 22% | 1'492 |
| 9 | Trogen | 21% | 1'905 |
| 10 | Rehetobel | 19% | 1'710 |
| 11 | Herisau | 17% | 16'100 |
| 12 | Gais | 17% | 3'150 |
| 13 | Teufen | 12.1% | 6'646 |
| 14 | Heiden | 11% | 4'413 |
| 15 | Speicher | 8.1% | 4'505 |
How we measure this
BFSShare of federal ballot proposals (2015–2026) on which the municipality's own majority landed on the opposite side of the Swiss-wide result (yes vs no). Based on the FSO ballot results across every proposal in the period; only municipalities that took part in at least 50 proposals are ranked. Municipal ties (exactly 50%) count neither for nor against. Only municipalities of at least 1,000 residents appear: in very small municipalities a few votes can flip the majority, so genuine political distinctiveness could not be reliably separated from chance. The top ranks are nonetheless not an artefact — the municipalities involved diverge deeply (around 20 percentage points) and in a consistent direction, not narrowly and at random.
Frequently asked questions
- Which municipality in Appenzell Ausserrhoden votes against Switzerland most often?
- Urnäsch: on 37% of federal ballot proposals (2015–2026) its majority landed on the opposite side of the national result — the highest in Appenzell Ausserrhoden (municipalities of 1,000+ residents).
- Aren't these just small villages with random results?
- No. That is why only municipalities of at least 1,000 residents are counted, and the leaders diverge not narrowly but sharply — on average about 20 percentage points from the 50% line, and systematically in the same direction (they reject what Switzerland accepts). That is a real political pattern, not the statistical noise of a few ballots.