diff --git a/register.py b/register.py
index f7c0b9be0..b71341a34 100644
--- a/register.py
+++ b/register.py
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 import pypandoc
+from io import open
 
 output = pypandoc.convert('README.md', 'rst')
 with open('README.txt' 'w+') as f:
     f.write(str(output.encode('utf-8')))
 
-readme_rst = open('./README.txt').read()
+readme_rst = open('./README.txt', 'r', encoding='utf-8').read()
 replace = '''
             .. figure:: https://uiux.s3.amazonaws.com/2016-logos/email-logo
             %402x.png\n   :alt: SendGrid Logo\n\n   SendGrid Logo\n
@@ -15,5 +16,5 @@
                 \n   :target: https://www.sendgrid.com
               '''
 final_text = readme_rst.replace(replace, replacement)
-with open('./README.txt', 'w') as f:
-    f.write(final_text)
+with open('./README.txt', 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+  f.write(final_text)
diff --git a/sendgrid/helpers/inbound/send.py b/sendgrid/helpers/inbound/send.py
index 9cbb5aa6c..fe67aca46 100644
--- a/sendgrid/helpers/inbound/send.py
+++ b/sendgrid/helpers/inbound/send.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 Usage: ./send.py [path to file containing test data]"""
 import argparse
 import sys
+from io import open
 try:
     from config import Config
 except ImportError:
@@ -26,9 +27,9 @@ def test_payload(self, payload_filepath):
             "Content-Type": "multipart/form-data; boundary=xYzZY"
         }
         client = Client(host=self.url, request_headers=headers)
-        with open(payload_filepath, 'r') as f:
-            data = f.read()
-            return client.post(request_body=data)
+        f = open(payload_filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8')
+        data = f.read()
+        return client.post(request_body=data)
 
     @property
     def url(self):
diff --git a/sendgrid/helpers/mail/asm.py b/sendgrid/helpers/mail/asm.py
index 8187aaba7..333f3e98c 100644
--- a/sendgrid/helpers/mail/asm.py
+++ b/sendgrid/helpers/mail/asm.py
@@ -9,8 +9,14 @@ def __init__(self, group_id=None, groups_to_display=None):
         :param groups_to_display: Unsubscribe groups to display
         :type groups_to_display: list(int), optional
         """
-        self.group_id = group_id
-        self.groups_to_display = groups_to_display
+        self._group_id = None
+        self._groups_to_display = None
+
+        if group_id is not None:
+            self.group_id = group_id
+
+        if groups_to_display is not None:
+            self.groups_to_display = groups_to_display
 
     @property
     def group_id(self):
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f95e4ee40..014691b61 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import sys
 import os
+from io import open
 from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
 __version__ = None
@@ -8,7 +9,7 @@
 
 long_description = 'Please see our GitHub README'
 if os.path.exists('README.txt'):
-    long_description = open('README.txt').read()
+    long_description = open('README.txt', 'r', encoding='utf-8').read()
 
 
 def getRequires():