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Canton St. Gallen overview
Ranking · Data 2015–2026 · Source: BFS

Municipalities in St. Gallen that most often vote against the Swiss result

National ranking

Nesslau is the municipality in St. Gallen that most often ends up on the opposite side of the national result: on 34% of federal ballot proposals (2015–2026) its own majority differed from Switzerland. Next are Neckertal (33%) and Eichberg (32%). Only municipalities of at least 1,000 residents are counted. Source: FSO.

Ranking

BFS · 2015–2026
RankMunicipalityDivergenceResidents
1Nesslau34%3'937
2Neckertal33%6'446
3Eichberg32%1'614
4Flums32%5'458
5Schänis32%4'213
6Quarten31%3'118
7Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann31%2'614
8Oberriet30%9'417
9Benken30%3'119
10Lütisburg30%1'647
11Niederbüren30%1'571
12Ebnat-Kappel29%5'353
13Mosnang29%2'936
14Bütschwil-Ganterschwil29%5'385
15Rüthi28%2'667
16Kaltbrunn28%5'128
17Gommiswald28%5'838
18Pfäfers27%1'647
19Eschenbach27%10'401
20Kirchberg26%9'879
21St. Margrethen25%6'731
22Altstätten25%12'788
23Sevelen25%5'405
24Mels25%9'581
25Amden25%1'896
26Oberbüren25%4'762
27Gams24%3'736
28Muolen23%1'251
29Rheineck23%3'566
30Sennwald23%6'428
31Wattwil23%9'262
32Häggenschwil22%1'432
33Rebstein22%5'084
34Jonschwil22%3'979
35Waldkirch22%3'581
36Thal21%7'217
37Niederhelfenschwil21%3'309
38Wartau20%5'617
39Vilters-Wangs20%5'168
40Widnau19%10'485
41Au18%8'771
42Degersheim18%4'209
43Berneck17%4'026
44Diepoldsau17%6'933
45Weesen17%1'895
46Zuzwil17%4'994
47Berg16%1'021
48Steinach16%3'579
49Marbach16%2'147
50Andwil15.2%2'117
51Tübach15%1'587
52Walenstadt15%6'083
53Balgach14.1%5'229
54Uzwil14.1%14'676
55St. Gallen14%79'487
56Wittenbach14%10'157
57Mörschwil14%3'702
58Rorschacherberg14%7'741
59Grabs14%7'535
60Schmerikon14%4'168
61Lichtensteig14%2'157
62Gossau14%18'943
63Eggersriet13%2'370
64Goldach13%9'872
65Untereggen13%1'035
66Uznach13%7'114
67Oberuzwil13%6'864
68Buchs12%14'287
69Flawil12%10'672
70Rorschach11.1%10'389
71Bad Ragaz11%6'836
72Wil10%25'444
73Gaiserwald10%8'828
74Sargans6%6'670
75Rapperswil-Jona6%28'836
Popular votes (sd-t-17-02) 2015–2026 · Federal Statistical Office (FSO), retrieved 03.08.2026

How we measure this

BFS

Share 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 St. Gallen votes against Switzerland most often?
Nesslau: on 34% of federal ballot proposals (2015–2026) its majority landed on the opposite side of the national result — the highest in St. Gallen (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.