diff --git a/app/models/draft_sequence.rb b/app/models/draft_sequence.rb
index 411d77492f4..681a8bcb2ef 100644
--- a/app/models/draft_sequence.rb
+++ b/app/models/draft_sequence.rb
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class DraftSequence < ActiveRecord::Base
     user_id = user
     user_id = user.id unless user.is_a?(Integer)
 
-    return nil if invalid_user_id?(user_id)
+    return 0 if invalid_user_id?(user_id)
 
     # perf critical path
     r, _ = DB.query_single('select sequence from draft_sequences where user_id = ? and draft_key = ?', user_id, key)
diff --git a/spec/models/draft_sequence_spec.rb b/spec/models/draft_sequence_spec.rb
index 282b129f158..47747c15d5c 100644
--- a/spec/models/draft_sequence_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/draft_sequence_spec.rb
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ describe DraftSequence do
 
     it 'should return nil for non-human user' do
       user.id = -99999
-      expect(DraftSequence.current(user, 'test')).to eq(nil)
+      expect(DraftSequence.current(user, 'test')).to eq(0)
     end
 
     it 'should return the right sequence' do