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Florida’s Secretary of State abruptly resigned this afternoon after photos of him in black face at a halloween party were leaked

Secretary Michael Ertel had just appeared before a House committee earlier in the day.

Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel’s tersely worded resignation was sent to the Governor’s personal assistant at 1:59.

It’s was effectively immediately.

It came after the Tallahassee Democrat received nearly 14-year-old pictures of Ertel in black face at a Halloween party.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat which originally obtained the photos, Ertel refused to comment, saying only, “There’s nothing I can say.”

Governor Ron DeSantis was asked about the resignation following a hurricane announcement in Marianna.

“Well I think it’s unfortunate. I think he’s done a lot of good work, but you know at the same time, you know I have got to have an administration that is focused on what matters to Floridians and I don’t want to get mired into kind of side controversies and so I felt it was best to accept the resignation and move on,” said DeSantis. “I think it’s unfortunate. I think he regrets that whole thing. 14, 15 years ago, but at the same time I want people to be able to lead and not have any of these things swirling around them.”

Ertel made a presentation to lawmakers Thursday morning, about the 2018 election recounts.

Lawmakers who know Ertel say the pictures don’t reflect the man they know.

“He’s always been a man of such integrity and professionalism,” said Representative Anna Eskamani. “So it’s unfortunate that this had to happen, but I think that the right decision was made.”

Ertel was first appointed as Seminole County Supervisor of Elections in 2005. He remained there until he became Florida’s Secretary of State earlier this year.