diff --git a/bin/deepstate/reducer.py b/bin/deepstate/reducer.py
index d8843e6..c93e900 100644
--- a/bin/deepstate/reducer.py
+++ b/bin/deepstate/reducer.py
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ def main():
 
   if (s[1] + 1) > len(currentTest):
     print("PADDING TEST WITH", (s[1] + 1) - len(currentTest), "ZEROS")
-    padding = bytearray('\x00' * ((s[1] + 1) - len(currentTest)))
+    padding = bytearray('\x00' * ((s[1] + 1) - len(currentTest)), 'utf-8')
     currentTest = currentTest + padding
   
   print()