“Thank you” cookies that are immediately sent to the North Carolina elections office

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — No good deed goes unpunished election workers in North Carolina.

A thank-you gift of pineapple-shaped cookies delivered to the Wake County Board of Elections sparked a dangerous response Tuesday after election workers raised concerns about a suspicious package sent from Hawaii.

“We’re just automatically on high alert for these things,” Wake County elections specialist Danner McCulloh told ABC News, citing recent incidents of suspicious packages containing powder sent to election offices across the country.

Raleigh police and firefighters quickly responded to the incident, which was treated as a hazardous situation. According to Lt. Jason Borneo of the Raleigh Police Department, bomb technicians screened the package.

After determining the package did not pose a threat, officials opened it and discovered it was full of pineapple-shaped cookies from the Honolulu Cookie Company. The package, which was shipped from an address in Hawaii, also included a handwritten thank-you note, a spokesperson for the Raleigh Fire Department said.

The operations at Wake County Board of Elections According to a spokesperson for the province, there were no consequences during the incident.

According to McCulloh, someone who heard a radio story about Wake County decided to send the cookies unannounced to thank election workers.

“It was a kind gesture,” McCulloh said, although he discouraged others from sending cookies to his office.