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| Rank | Municipality | Divergence | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nesslau | 34% | 3'937 |
| 2 | Neckertal | 33% | 6'446 |
| 3 | Eichberg | 32% | 1'614 |
| 4 | Flums | 32% | 5'458 |
| 5 | Schänis | 32% | 4'213 |
| 6 | Quarten | 31% | 3'118 |
| 7 | Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann | 31% | 2'614 |
| 8 | Oberriet | 30% | 9'417 |
| 9 | Benken | 30% | 3'119 |
| 10 | Lütisburg | 30% | 1'647 |
| 11 | Niederbüren | 30% | 1'571 |
| 12 | Ebnat-Kappel | 29% | 5'353 |
| 13 | Mosnang | 29% | 2'936 |
| 14 | Bütschwil-Ganterschwil | 29% | 5'385 |
| 15 | Rüthi | 28% | 2'667 |
| 16 | Kaltbrunn | 28% | 5'128 |
| 17 | Gommiswald | 28% | 5'838 |
| 18 | Pfäfers | 27% | 1'647 |
| 19 | Eschenbach | 27% | 10'401 |
| 20 | Kirchberg | 26% | 9'879 |
| 21 | St. Margrethen | 25% | 6'731 |
| 22 | Altstätten | 25% | 12'788 |
| 23 | Sevelen | 25% | 5'405 |
| 24 | Mels | 25% | 9'581 |
| 25 | Amden | 25% | 1'896 |
| 26 | Oberbüren | 25% | 4'762 |
| 27 | Gams | 24% | 3'736 |
| 28 | Muolen | 23% | 1'251 |
| 29 | Rheineck | 23% | 3'566 |
| 30 | Sennwald | 23% | 6'428 |
| 31 | Wattwil | 23% | 9'262 |
| 32 | Häggenschwil | 22% | 1'432 |
| 33 | Rebstein | 22% | 5'084 |
| 34 | Jonschwil | 22% | 3'979 |
| 35 | Waldkirch | 22% | 3'581 |
| 36 | Thal | 21% | 7'217 |
| 37 | Niederhelfenschwil | 21% | 3'309 |
| 38 | Wartau | 20% | 5'617 |
| 39 | Vilters-Wangs | 20% | 5'168 |
| 40 | Widnau | 19% | 10'485 |
| 41 | Au | 18% | 8'771 |
| 42 | Degersheim | 18% | 4'209 |
| 43 | Berneck | 17% | 4'026 |
| 44 | Diepoldsau | 17% | 6'933 |
| 45 | Weesen | 17% | 1'895 |
| 46 | Zuzwil | 17% | 4'994 |
| 47 | Berg | 16% | 1'021 |
| 48 | Steinach | 16% | 3'579 |
| 49 | Marbach | 16% | 2'147 |
| 50 | Andwil | 15.2% | 2'117 |
| 51 | Tübach | 15% | 1'587 |
| 52 | Walenstadt | 15% | 6'083 |
| 53 | Balgach | 14.1% | 5'229 |
| 54 | Uzwil | 14.1% | 14'676 |
| 55 | St. Gallen | 14% | 79'487 |
| 56 | Wittenbach | 14% | 10'157 |
| 57 | Mörschwil | 14% | 3'702 |
| 58 | Rorschacherberg | 14% | 7'741 |
| 59 | Grabs | 14% | 7'535 |
| 60 | Schmerikon | 14% | 4'168 |
| 61 | Lichtensteig | 14% | 2'157 |
| 62 | Gossau | 14% | 18'943 |
| 63 | Eggersriet | 13% | 2'370 |
| 64 | Goldach | 13% | 9'872 |
| 65 | Untereggen | 13% | 1'035 |
| 66 | Uznach | 13% | 7'114 |
| 67 | Oberuzwil | 13% | 6'864 |
| 68 | Buchs | 12% | 14'287 |
| 69 | Flawil | 12% | 10'672 |
| 70 | Rorschach | 11.1% | 10'389 |
| 71 | Bad Ragaz | 11% | 6'836 |
| 72 | Wil | 10% | 25'444 |
| 73 | Gaiserwald | 10% | 8'828 |
| 74 | Sargans | 6% | 6'670 |
| 75 | Rapperswil-Jona | 6% | 28'836 |
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 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.