--- org.el.orig	2017-08-01 10:58:56.000000000 -0500
+++ org.el	2017-08-01 11:26:12.000000000 -0500
@@ -13640,7 +13640,9 @@
       (setq txt (replace-match "" t t txt)))
     (when (string-match "\\s-+\\'" txt)
       (setq txt (replace-match "" t t txt)))
-    (setq lines (org-split-string txt "\n"))
+    (setq lines (if (zerop (length txt))
+		    nil
+		  (org-split-string txt "\n")))
     (when (org-string-nw-p note)
       (setq note
 	    (org-replace-escapes