Leo Chang — Founder & Developer of Global Election Simulator

Leo Chang, who also goes by Li-ao, is a student, pianist, and self-taught developer from Apex, North Carolina, and the single person behind Global Election Simulator, the first free, fully interactive simulator of the world's elections. He built all of it himself, from the geographic data and official baselines to the maps, the interface, and the vote-counting math.

An early head start. At Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina, Leo took the largest number of Advanced Placement courses of anyone in his school, and through dual enrollment he earned an Associate of Arts degree before finishing high school. Along the way he won awards at the regional and international level.

Piano. Leo is an accomplished pianist, and the patience and precision that years at the keyboard demand show up throughout his work, where the distance between almost correct and correct is the whole point.

The simulator. Every country is its own small engineering feat: real geographic boundaries cleaned so tens of thousands of districts stay crisp, baselines from official election authorities checked line by line, and counting that follows the real rules of each place (D'Hondt and Sainte-Lague, single transferable vote, mixed-member proportional systems, two-round runoffs, leveling seats). It is free forever, independent, and unaffiliated with any party, government, or polling company; its results are illustrative and educational, never advice or prediction.

Chapel Hill and medicine. Leo now attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying for a Bachelor of Science in Biology on the pre-medical track, an aspiring physician working toward an MD. The through-line of his work is service: helping people understand and take care of the things that shape their lives. Get in touch at leoc4321@gmail.com.