Objection: machines are only as indifferent as the people who make or control them. On top of that, they are opaque: it's very hard to verify that a machine do

Objection: machines are only as indifferent as the people who make or control them. On top of that, they are opaque: it's very hard to verify that a machine does what it claims to do and nothing else. If you like machines, I present you a perfect machine: it's a clear box into which you throw paper ballots. It even counts the ballots: invariably, the result is "akira2501 won" - that is written on the outside; it works instantaneously. Any party that finds it suspicious can challenge and recount the paper ballots inside, in presence of independent observers. Since there's no better way to verify the work of a voting machine other than counting papers, this machine is as good as any machine you just described - and is definitely cheap. As for the cost - citation needed that machines actually provide any savings here.