diff --git a/common/static/coffee/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.coffee b/common/static/coffee/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.coffee
index c2dc5f78dd..d88f3367dc 100644
--- a/common/static/coffee/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.coffee
+++ b/common/static/coffee/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.coffee
@@ -224,6 +224,13 @@ describe "DiscussionThreadListView", ->
             checkThreadsOrdering(view, sort_order, type)
             expect(view.$el.find(".forum-nav-thread-comments-count:visible").length).toEqual(if type == "votes" then 0 else 4)
             expect(view.$el.find(".forum-nav-thread-votes-count:visible").length).toEqual(if type == "votes" then 4 else 0)
+            if type == "votes"
+                expect(
+                    _.map(
+                        view.$el.find(".forum-nav-thread-votes-count"),
+                        (element) -> $(element).text().trim()
+                    )
+                ).toEqual(["+25 votes", "+20 votes", "+42 votes", "+12 votes"])
 
         it "with sort preference date", ->
             checkRender(@threads, "date", ["Thread1", "Thread4", "Thread2", "Thread3"])
diff --git a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/thread-list-item.underscore b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/thread-list-item.underscore
index 335085fbc3..8e271cd1fd 100644
--- a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/thread-list-item.underscore
+++ b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/thread-list-item.underscore
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@
       );
       %>
       <span class="forum-nav-thread-votes-count">
-      +<%- interpolate(fmt, {
+      +<%= interpolate(fmt, {
                votes_count: votes['up_count'],
                span_start: '<span class="sr">',
                span_end: '</span>'