  We study theoretically a short single-channel Josephson junction between
superconductors in the trivial and topological phases. The junction is assumed
to be biased by a small current and subjected to quasiparticle poisoning. We
find that the presence of quasiparticles leads to a voltage signal from the
Josephson junction that can be observed both in the trivial and in the
topological phase. Quite remarkably, these voltage signatures are sufficiently
different in the two phases such that they can serve as means to clearly
distinguish between trivial Andreev and topological Majorana bound states in
the system. Moreover, these voltage signatures, in the trivial and topological
phase, would allow one to measure directly the quasiparticle poisoning rates
and to test various approaches for protection against quasiparticle poisoning.
