Prior to the 2006 election, my county used punch cards. They were easy to use, obvious to see if you failed to punch completely (which I had never even thought about before 2000 Florida) and provided their own paper trail. The entire voting machine including the suitcase/stand was very inexpensive. Of course, criminal voter fraud election workers could have punched extra cards, but short of that, were efficient and cheap.
The whole state had to change to the touch screen in 2006. Cheaters will always find a way to cheat.
The best system I’ve seen is the paper ballot, marked with pencil, and read optically.