Electoral College
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Electoral College. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
in the United States, the body of men elected in each State to cast the vote of the people of the State for presidential candidates. The State conventions of the various parties nominate the electors, one for each Representative, and one for each Senator in Congress. These persons are voted for on the general election day. The 12th amendment to the Federal Constitution orders the electors to meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for President and Vice- President separately. They are to make distinct lists of all persons voted for by s, and send themselves for the two offices, those lists, sealed, to the president of the Senate at Washington. Sections 131 to 151 of the Federal Revised Statutes prescribe generally the proceedings of the electors. They are to meet on the last elect Wednesday in December in the year in which they are elected, in such place as the Legislature of each State may direct. The governor is to give them three certified lists of those chosen to be electors; the electors are to make three lists of the persons balloted for by them for the presidency and vice-presidency, and to the certified lists annex the certificates furnished by the governor. They are to appoint one of their number to carry one of the certificates to the president of the Senate before the first Wednesday in January, and to send to the president of the Senate, by mail, another copy of the certificates; and the third they are to give to the judge of the district wherein they assemble.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
in the United States , a body of men intrusted with the selection of a president and a vice-president. The United States Constitution provides that the voters of the different states shall choose electors, who shall in turn select a president and a vice-president. It was the intent of the framers of the Constitution that these electors should exercise their own judgment; but, as a matter of fact, they are pledged customarily to the support of particular candidates. Each state chooses as many electors as it has representatives and senators in Congress. The number cannot, therefore, fall below three. Nevada has three. New Jersey has three. New York has thirty-nine. Though called an electoral college, the term is a misnomer, for the electors never meet in one body. Those for each state meet at a place designated by the state legislature, usually at the capital, on the second Monday in January to cast their ballots for president and vice-president. They make three certified copies of the result. One is deposited with the federal judge of the district, one is sent by mail to the president of the Senate, the other is sent to the same officer by an official messenger, usually one of their own number. For convenience, the electoral vote of each state is given in the table accompanying the article on CONGRESS. For the make-up of the college, see table in article on the UNITED STATES. See also PRESIDENT.