September 28, 2025 a popular vote between innovation and tradition
September 28, 2025 will remain a historic day for Switzerland: the people cast their vote on important federal issues, while in several cantons significant local consultations took place.
It was a rich and decisive electoral round, involving political, social, and economic issues of broad impact. From the tax reform and the introduction of the E‑ID at the national level, to cantonal votes on health, environment, social justice, and taxation, voters drew lines of choice that reflect deep territorial and ideological differences. The results highlight a country divided between innovation and tradition, between urban needs and rural sensitivities, opening the way to new challenges for the future of the Confederation.
Federal votes
Abolition of the imputed rental value
The reform was approved with 57.7% of favorable votes, with the majority of cantons in agreement. The project provides for the elimination of the imputed rental value tax by 2028 and the introduction of a new cantonal property tax on secondary homes. The decision favors owners of occupied homes, reducing the tax burden, especially for pensioners.
The imputed rental value had been introduced in Switzerland in the 1940s as a measure to fairly tax the benefit derived from owning an occupied home, ensuring stable tax revenues for cantons and municipalities.
Political reactions were mixed: left-wing parties and tenants’ associations denounced an increase in inequalities and a risk of rising rents. The votes showed strong geographical divisions: most of the cantons in German-speaking Switzerland supported the reform, while in French-speaking Switzerland a majority opposed it. Tourist cantons such as Valais rejected the measure, while Ticino and Graubünden approved it.
Electronic identity law (E‑ID)
The E‑ID Gesetz project was narrowly approved: 50.39% “yes” against 49.61% “no.” This is a significant victory after a previous version of the law, put to a vote in 2021, had been rejected by the majority of voters. The new version introduced greater guarantees of security, transparency, and personal data protection, seeking to address concerns expressed at the time.
A relevant fact of this round is the clear territorial difference: in large cities such as Zurich, Geneva, and Basel the E‑ID received support above 55–60%, while in rural areas the majority was opposed. This highlights a clear divide between those living in urban contexts, more open to digitalization, and those living in rural areas, more distrustful of innovations of this kind, especially for reasons related to security and privacy.
Swiss vote result of 24 November 2024
Cantonal votes: a national overview
In addition to federal issues, several cantons went to the polls for local and regional votes on political, social, and economic matters.
Canton of Bern: approved with 51.2% an initiative against unjustified rent increases, which requires landlords to communicate to new tenants the previous rent when the vacancy rate is equal to or less than 1.5%.
Canton of Solothurn: rejected (64.51%) a new regulation on the care of children complementary to the family.
Canton of Vaud: rejected (56.07%) a constitutional revision to facilitate voting rights for foreigners; approved (52.58%) an amendment to allow small parties to enter the cantonal parliament more easily.
Canton of Zurich: rejected (59.3%) a regulation to advance the target of net-zero CO₂ emissions to 2040, maintaining the federal target of 2050.
Canton of Fribourg: rejected an initiative to protect Lake Gruyère (60%); approved a credit of over 50 million francs for the construction of a new prison (66.77%).
Canton of Basel-Stadt: approved (64.5%) an initiative to constitutionally enshrine “good and stable relations” with the EU and neighboring countries.
Canton of Thurgau: approved (51.1%) the abolition of the ban on dancing on major religious holidays.
Canton of Geneva: in addition to votes on local issues, the first round of a supplementary election for the Council of State took place: Nicolas Walder (Green Party) leading with 32,573 votes, who will face Lionel Dugerdil in the second round on October 19. Two proposals to limit public spending and a SVP initiative on police immunity were rejected; a proposal to increase housing cooperatives to 10% by 2030 was approved.
Canton of Schwyz: approved (53.25%) an increase in starting salaries for teachers to address the shortage of educators.
Appenzell Outer Rhodes: rejected (71.5%) an initiative against the coercion of children and adolescents during health crises.
St. Moritz: rejected the proposal to replace the municipal secretary with a CEO; approved the reduction from 17 to 11 municipal councilors.
City of Zurich: approved (61.7%) the ban on the use of petrol leaf blowers, with restrictions also for battery-powered models.
Canton of Ticino: the canton approved both popular initiatives on health insurance premiums, expressing a clear electoral stance on health and taxation.
- “10% Initiative”: approved with 57.08% of the votes. Aims to establish that the health insurance premium, net of subsidies, should not exceed 10% of a household’s disposable income.
- Lega Initiative “Stop fleecing the citizen, fully tax-deductible health insurance premiums!”: approved with 60.51% of the votes. Aims to increase the tax deductibility of health insurance premiums.
This round is of particular importance for the canton: the approval of both initiatives will have an estimated overall impact of about 500 million francs per year.
Conclusions
The vote of September 28, 2025 represents a dual turning point for Switzerland: at the federal level, with the approval of a historic tax reform, the launch of the new Electronic Identity Law (E‑ID Gesetz), which shows strong divergences between urban and rural areas and was decided by a very narrow margin, and the abolition of the imputed rental value, an unprecedented change for the Swiss tax system. At the cantonal level, the polls expressed significant decisions that reflect the variety of local sensitivities, revealing a clear contrast between urban and rural approaches on issues such as environmental sustainability, social justice, and public finance management. This vote is not only a legislative change but a historic moment in the redefinition of Switzerland, in the values and priorities of its society.
