diff --git a/Lib/argparse.py b/Lib/argparse.py
index d867611..f365385 100644
--- a/Lib/argparse.py
+++ b/Lib/argparse.py
@@ -1967,7 +1967,7 @@
         for arg_string in arg_strings:
 
             # for regular arguments, just add them back into the list
-            if arg_string[0] not in self.fromfile_prefix_chars:
+            if not arg_string or arg_string[0] not in self.fromfile_prefix_chars:
                 new_arg_strings.append(arg_string)
 
             # replace arguments referencing files with the file content