With a week to go until the U.S. presidential election and last Friday’s FBI headline putting political risk firmly back on the radar, open interest in VIX call options spikesOpen VIX calls outnumber puts by a 3.5-to-1 margin, the most in about six months, per Trade Alert data; positioning in November contracts even stronger with calls outnumbering puts 4.2xVIX Nov calls make up 9 of the top 10 largest blocks of open VIX contracts; Nov 21, 20 & 18 calls make up the three largest blocks of open VIX contractsOn Tuesday, the VIX jumped to a 7-week high of 20.43; VIX closed up 8.8% to 18.56 Barring Tuesday's 0.7% decline for the S&P 500, stock market volatility has been subdued; S&P 500 10-day historical volatility at 5.16%, close to the low end of 2-year rangeWide dislocation between the VIX and realized volatility could result in a quick drop in the VIX and a rise in the S&P 500 post election if election uncertainty declines.