If you are just wanting to switch your zoning to do a homestead, in my eyes, that seems like something nobody would protest and should be an easy case that can be done fully remote. 

No argument there, hold a protest I will be at front of it, I am there with ya. 

Or protest property taxes?

The encouraging investment mantra is just spin.If you value the old Protestant work ethic you should favor taxing it fairly.

I know there are landlords that protest that including these items will expose them to unmanageable maintenance costs but to be honest we rarely get calls (I use top load washers - more durable and simpler technology than front loaders).

I know one can find property tax protest records publicized by the Board of Equalization / local municipality in many states, but I'm not sure if this is true for all 50. 

So you could potentially pay the transfer tax now in "protest" and later file an appeal.

If you buy a distressed property for substantially below its last recorded selling price, it may be well worth filing a tax protest.

This last market boom, where besides "affordable" housing, people were protesting Google shuttles (one character even had a Google bus piñata, and proceeded to smash it during a protest), I knew things were changing.

Example: Lease says -'Tenant agrees that upon non-payment Landlord may self-evict Tenant after 10 days' - Tenant agreed, Landlord agreed, a there's even a written instrument ---- Self-eviction still NOT legal if Tenant protests; because your Lease can not supersede the law and that law is interpreted by a judge and that judge may actually find you, the Landlord, as trying to circumvent the law and there may be real repercussions from doing so.