Florida secretary of state resigns after blackface photos emerge

Michael Ertel has resigned as Florida's secretary of state, and it's easy to see why.

The newly appointed official dressed up in blackface at a "private Halloween party" in 2005, wearing a shirt that says "Katrina victim," photos obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat show. The newspaper showed the photos to the Florida governor's office on Thursday, and Ertel tendered his resignation shortly after.

The Democrat obtained these photos last week, and texted them to Ertel, who confirmed he was the man in costume. The photos would've been taken just after Ertel became the Seminole County supervisor of elections, and just months after Hurricane Katrina caused more than 1,000 deaths. "There's nothing I can say," Ertel told the Democrat regarding the photos.

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Newly elected Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis (R) appointed Ertel as secretary of state less than a month ago. DeSantis called his resignation "unfortunate" because Ertel has "done a lot of good work," but accepted the resignation because he didn't "want to get mired in side controversies," per the Democrat.

The Democrat described the photos as "the sole blemish on a seemingly spotless public career," seeing as Ertel had increased voter registration and election accessibility in the areas he'd previously overseen. He also says he told election supervisors to accept voter registration applications from ex-felons, as a newly enacted Florida constitutional amendment required. Read more at the Tallahassee Democrat.