I'm not sure if it's a bug or intended but of the 6 starting nations in the game only 1, France, has any level of popularity above 10%.
I have tried verifying, then uninstalling and reinstalling the game with no apparent change in the totals.

Is there a way I can fix this myself by changing any of the game files or am I dependent on a patch being released?

Working as intended, I believe. France without random starting parameters have bonuses like Egalitarian Society bumping up the overall popularity. It is a little counter-intuitive that you were just elected and you have almost no fans among the population, but it goes up quickly once you start making people happy and untangling the ongoing red situations.