Florida state secretary resigns after Blackface photos revealed

Florida's Secretary of State Michael Ertel has resigned after photos emerged of him in blackface dressed as a victim of Hurricane Katrina.

Ertel's resignation comes in conjunction with the release of photos of him in blackface at a private Halloween party in 2005, obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper.

Ertel - wearing a bandana and a shirt with "Katrina Victim" written on the front - was a local supervisor of elections at the time.

Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people, most of them in Louisiana.

The secretary's of state's responsibilities include overseeing elections in Florida and promoting its economic interests around the world.

Ertel was appointed in the role in December by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

"There's nothing I can say," Ertel said when approached by the Tallahassee Democrat for comment about the photos.

He resigned hours after the paper shared them with the Florida governor's office.

Ertel has deleted his Twitter account and was also not available for comment.

In 2005, Ertel served as Seminole County supervisor of elections for 14 years. That same year, Hurricane Katrina slammed the southeast coast. He received numerous awards within Florida for increasing voter registration.