The right faction of the ALP believes it is on track to command a majority at the looming national conference, a development that would make life easier for the federal party leader, Bill Shorten, as he faces the challenges of a mini-election season over the coming weeks.

Spurred by the left faction almost securing control of the last ALP national conference in 2015 for the first time since the mid-1980s – a development that made the last conference hair-raising for Shorten to manage – the right factions in New South Wales and Victoria have launched a major organisational effort spearheaded by the NSW party secretary, Kaila Murnain, and the assistant national secretary, Sebastian Zwalf.

Several well-placed sources report the right is currently on track to secure a majority in its own right at the July conference after increasing its representation in both NSW and Victoria, or at least command an effective working majority by calling on support in contentious votes from a substantial delegation from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union.

But some other insiders insist that it is too soon to be definitive about which faction can ultimately command the floor with results still outstanding from Queensland, where the left is now dominant, and the right faction split.

As the right is moving behind the scenes to gain the conference ascendancy, there are already complaints in Victoria about the national conference delegate election ballot in the state.

The secretary of Victorian Labor independents, Eric Dearricott, has circulated a critical missive seen by Guardian Australia that says delays in people receiving their ballots caused “significant problems”.

Dearricott says members who did not receive ballot papers were able to request that they be sent new ballots, and towards the end of the voting period were allowed to authorise a person to collect their reissued ballot on their behalf from state office.

He says more than 1,000 party members requested re-issued ballot papers, with one-third of the re-issue requests coming from members in 11 branches, with two of the branches requesting more than 60 replacement ballots. “The process for re-issuing ballots clearly needs to be reviewed,” Dearricott says.

As well as tensions behind the scenes about conference delegate selections, Guardian Australia understands there are now a number of rule changes currently in circulation.

The right is pushing for a prohibition on serving frontbenchers nominating themselves to run to be the ALP president.

A decision by the shadow climate change minister and prominent left faction powerbroker Mark Butler to seek a second term as Labor president has caused a stink with the right.

Butler, who is facing off against the former Rudd and Gillard government treasurer and Queensland rightwinger Wayne Swan, is running on a platform of party democratisation.

The right traditionally opposes democratisation proposals in the belief increasing grassroots participation boosts the power of the left in party forums. The proposed rule change currently in circulation is payback for Butler’s perceived provocations in the presidential contest.

Other contentious proposals being worked up behind the scenes include a refashioning of the relationship between the Chifley Research Centre, a Labor thinktank, and the party.

There has been a running stoush behind the scenes for a number of years about the relationship between the Chifley operation and the party, with some party figures objecting to the left-domination of the thinktank’s board.

Some party sources also point to a poor relationship between the chair of the thinktank, the trade unionist Linda White, and Shorten.

Also in circulation is a proposal to create a position of party treasurer, elevating the status of the chair of the finance committee, and a proposal to appoint a returning officer by a two-thirds majority of the national executive.

The left also intends to circulate changes to the party rules but the proposal have not yet reached the drafting stage.

There are also concerns in the left that the right will revive a contentious proposal designed to limit the size of the Tasmanian delegation to the national conference. The Tasmanian delegation is dominated by leftwingers.