The Political Machine 2012 Forums have details on a new version 1.01 patch that's now automatically available for this election simulation. Word is: "Stardock also added several new issues such as 'Chik-fi-let', 'Provide tax returns', and 'Government builds business'. Various fixes for issues reported have also been integrated, including a fix for a memory leak, a multiplayer sync issue, custom candidates in MP, and other stability issues." Here are the patch notes:

• Added new issues to reflect current political climate
  • Added "Chik-fi-let" as a new issue
  • Added "Provide Tax Returns" as a new issue
  • Added "Gov. Builds Business" as a new issue
• Decreased importance of "Military Strike on Iran" and "High Gas Prices" to reflect current political climate
• Updated electoral votes for states that had census changes
• Fixed issue where custom candidates couldn't be selected in multiplayer
• Fixed memory leak that could lead to poor performance in very long games
• Fixed stability issues when a second game is started after a game has already been played
• Fixed multiplayer victory achievement
• Fixed a bug with a custom female body option referencing the wrong model
• Fixes for various stability issues
• Fixed multiplayer sync issue where the turn would sometimes not advance