Ballots can actually be made judicially auditable while preserving election secrecy.
Paper is structurally complex. A torn corner a ballot of a ballot can be matched to the rest of a ballot.
A voter would be required by law to tear off and retain for say 30 days after voting a corner of his/her ballot.
If the election is judicially audited, the voter would bring his corner and ID (or identifying witnesses with their own ID) to a judicial official (and Republican and Democratic monitors). In the cases of voters dying after an election, an official copy of the death certificate as well as the corner could be brought by an executor or probate lawyer with their own ID. The corners and the voters (and executors and probate attorneys) would be given unique receipt numbers.
I can't find where I left my glasses. How am I going to do this?
This is an excellent idea. I do have a question.
How would anyone find their uniquely torn ballot among the thousands of anonymous ballots?
Why not use a colorless thumbprint on the ballot?